Consequences
by N17E2000
Summary: Vegeta's niece is on the run when her mercenary lifestyle takes a turn for the worse. Now living with Vegeta and the Z-fighters on Earth, the young Saiyan must face the growing realization that she has been one of the 'bad guys' all this time, all while vacillating between embracing and resisting adapting to life on Earth. Minor changes to the timeline.
1. Chapter 1

Bulma gazed across the front lawn of Capsule Corp in triumph. Vegeta had resisted, as usual, but also as usual, she'd gotten her own way in the end. Bulla's seventh birthday was a hit, and the girl of the hour was running around giddily, chasing Marron, frosting smeared across their faces. She'd had a classmates over earlier in the day, but Bulma had made sure that the second-graders were all gone before the Z-gang was due to arrive. She didn't want those kids going back to their parents, jabbering about green men and flying people.

Now with the sun setting in the horizon, everyone was lounging around on the lawn, fiddling with drinks and the last few pieces of cake. Trunks, Goten, Marron and Bulla ran around, chasing, punching, kicking each other, working off their sugar rush. Vegeta seemed downright amused at the children's antics, and even Piccolo looked like he was enjoying himself.

Of course, it couldn't last.

Gohan had been in the middle of telling Krillin, Chaiotzu and a disinterested looking Eighteen about his first week at university when suddenly Tien, who had been nursing a drink, looked up, shoulders tensed.

"Someone's coming," he said tersely, his three eyes scanning the sky.

The Z-fighters were all on edge now. "He's right," said Piccolo, brows crossed now.

"Who could it be?" said Krillin, trying to hide the panic in his voice.

"Whoever it is, they're strong," Piccolo responded.

By now everyone had gathered around the picnic table to stare at the sky. "Oh great!" Bulma cried, not believing her luck. "Just when things were starting to calm down too! It's been barely two years since Buu!"

"Be quiet," Vegeta commanded, gritting his teeth.

"It's just one person," Goku told her as he came over, trying to be reassuring. "And I don't sense any bad intentions. This may not be bad thing. Let's just relax and wait."

His words made sense, but the atmosphere of tension remained. Somehow, no one could shake the feeling that things were about to go south.

Sure enough, within a few minutes (although it seemed like a lifetime to the group), a figure was visible in the darkening sky. It was clear that they were the intended target as the figure hovered above the Capsule Corp compound, coming down slowly to land right in front of the awaiting party.

It was a woman, rather short, slim but well-built. She had a shock of short black hair that spiked messily in the back and dark eyes, and her outfit was all too familiar – a purple scouter was perched over one side of her face to match the purple leotard she wore underneath black and white armor, and wrapped around it…

"Oh my God! She's a Saiyan!" Krillin cried out as he pointed to the brown tail that hugged the woman's waist.

"Wha…how…" Yamcha was so shocked he could barely speak. "How is that possible?!"

The group turned to look at Vegeta as if for explanation of this unlikely turn of events. Then they saw his face.

Because they were so busy staring at the party-crasher, no one had noticed Vegeta's face when she landed, his eyes widening with shock and disbelief, then contorting with a blistering rage.

"You," he breathed, staring at the woman unblinkingly. You could almost hear his teeth grinding together.

"You know her Vegeta?" Bulma asked. But Vegeta could hear and see nothing except the woman standing in front of them.

"It's you!" he snarled, voice rising.

The woman gave him a small smile. "I wasn't sure you'd recognize me after all this time."

"How dare you…" His fists were clenched and his whole body was shaking. He was so angry he could barely get words out. Krillin and Yamcha backed away from him instinctively – it had been a while since they'd seen him this angry.

The woman, against all odds, didn't seem scared, just nervous. "I need to talk to you about something important," she said calmly.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Vegeta's rage erupted; he didn't seem to have even heard what she said. "How dare you show your face to me again, you… you…" words failed him. Suddenly, he held out his hand, a ball of energy forming. "I'm going to kill you!" he screamed. "I'm going to kill you right now!"

"Vegeta, wait!" Goku yelled, panic in his voice.

"Brother, please…"

"Brother!" Bulma cried in shock. Even Eighteen looked surprised.

"SHUT UP!" Vegeta seemed to have lost all awareness of the world around him. "Don't you ever call me that, you harlot! You lost the privilege of even speaking my name on your filthy tongue a long time ago, when you ran off with that…" he paused suddenly, eyes darting around like a dog that caught a squirrel in his peripheral vision. "He's here," he breathed, looking up. "He's here, isn't he? You brought him here!" He was screaming again as he turned on her. "You brought that filthy, thieving, lying, low-bred son-of-a-bitch TO MY HOUSE!"

"Who's here?! Vegeta what the hell is going on!" Bulma yelled, her frustration rising.

But Vegeta was in his own bubble of rage. "Where is he?!" he screamed at the sky. "Where is that coward?! I'll kill you both right now!"

Goku had seen enough. Vegeta was so angry he actually might kill this woman in cold blood right here at his daughter's birthday party, and he wasn't about to let that happen. "Vegeta stop!" he yelled, standing in front of the enraged prince and grabbing his arms. "This is crazy! You're not going to kill anyone, so calm down."

"Shut up Kakarot!" Vegeta wrenched his arms away from him. "You have no idea what you're talking about. This is a Saiyan matter, a matter of royal blood and honor."

"So she is your sister?"

"She's nothing to me," Vegeta snarled, glaring at the woman who just stood there serenely. If looks could kill, she'd be lying in a pool of her own blood.

"Well then, you don't need to kill her!" Goku pointed out.

"That is exactly what I need to do."

"My lord, please," the woman said, looking into his deadened eyes and somehow not flinching. "Let me just tell you why I'm here, and then if you want to kill me I won't resist."

"Oh really?"

"Yes." She stood there, unwavering, resolute. "I knew when I came here that there was a possibility you'd kill me. Unfortunately, I'm out of options. I just hoped to get the chance to say what I have to before you do it." She gave him a wan smile.

Vegeta's nostrils flared. "There is nothing you can say that will prevent me from regaining my family's honor."

"Dad?" Trunks' voice was small and shaky. "You're not going to really kill her, are you?" His ten-year-old face was covered in confusion. "She's just standing there."

Vegeta blinked at his son. He had completely forgotten he had an audience that included his wife and four small children, two of them his own. He searched for words to explain the situation to the boy, but they weren't there.

The woman was smiling down on the lavender-haired boy. "You must be Trunks." She looked around at the group. "You have a sister too, right?"

Bulla was about to raise her hand to indicate that she was the sister in question, when Vegeta turned on the woman again. "How do you know that?" he snapped.

"Tarble told me," the woman said simply.

"Tarble!" Vegeta's eyebrows practically disappeared into his hair. "You've seen him too?! Why didn't he kill you?!"

She shrugged. "I'm not sure. I don't think it even occurred to him. He barely recognized me, and when he did he was actually pretty happy to see me."

Vegeta groaned. "When was this?"

"Not that long ago," she said noncommittally. "I needed help."

"And you went to Tarble?!"

She gave him that smug smile that was so often on his own face. "You see brother, I wasn't joking when I said you were my last option."


	2. Chapter 2

It was a few hours later. The Z-fighters had left shortly after Vegeta had (very reluctantly) agreed to speak to his sister, Piccolo suggesting that it would be best to let the Saiyans solve their domestic issues in private. As they exited the Capsule Corp home, Piccolo motioned to them.

"I thought I should tell you, Vegeta was right. There is someone else here – two people actually. They're pretty far away, and if they're really with this woman they may not want to cause any trouble. But still, they're strong so keep your eyes peeled."

They nodded solemnly, then dispersed into the cool night air.

Meanwhile, Vegeta, Bulma and Goku, who had stayed behind at his blue-haired friend's request to make sure no one got murdered, gathered with the Prince's erstwhile sister, whose name turned out to be Cora, in Bulma's office. Trunks and Bulla had been sent to bed, although neither was getting much sleep.

"Well?" Vegeta spat at his sister. He was sitting upright in Bulma's office chair, arms crossed. Goku and Bulma sat on an old couch in the corner, while his sister walked around the office curiously.

She turned to him and took a deep breath. "I need a favor."

"A favor?!" Vegeta laughed. "I am doing you a favor. I'm willing to let you and that bastard get back on your ship and get the hell away from me without so much as a scratch. It's far more than you deserve."

"Well then, I need another one."

She hadn't changed at all, Vegeta thought to himself. Unfazed in the face of his anger, completely confident that she would get her own way one way or another. It had irritated him when he was a child, and it irritated him now.

"Hold up here. I need to understand what's going on," Bulma said, turning to her husband. "Why didn't you tell me you had a sister?"

"Because I don't."

"I was disowned," she said, by way of explanation.

"What for?"

"For being a whore, that's what for," Vegeta interrupted, venom dripping from every word. "For choosing a low-bred brute not fit to even wipe her boots over the honor of her family and her race. For running off like a thief in the night and shaming the royal family of the Saiyans in front of the entire galaxy."

There was a pause.

"I ran away with a man from the lower class of warriors," Cora translated.

Vegeta's fist slammed into the desk, sending papers flying everywhere. "You don't care at all, do you? You never cared! You never spared a single thought for what it would do to our father, to our reputation! Do you know how many times Frieza threw it in my face, that my sister…"

"Who cares what Frieza thinks?" Cora interrupted. Her arms were crossed now and she was glaring at her brother; you could really see the resemblance now. "He was a bastard then; now he's a dead bastard. Or did he mean that much to you?" Her voice was taunting now.

Vegeta got up from his chair and came up to her, his face inches away from hers, seething hate and rage. "If you'd heard the things he said…"

"If it bothered you so much you should have just left. Turles did."

His hand blurred, smacking her right across the cheek and knocking the scouter from her face. "If you say that name in my presence again," he whispered, "I swear to all the gods I'll break your neck."

Cora lifted her head slowly to meet her brother's eyes. It was not the first time he'd hit her, but it was the first time it had hurt. Then again, the last time she'd seen him he had been a child. As she looked into his face, she could see him clearly as boy, leaving Frieza's ship for a rare visit to his royal home. It was some kind of occasion, she remembered, although the details escaped her now. And yet she could it see it so clearly – it was memorable not just for being the last time she would see her little brother, but also because it was the day she decided she would run away with Turles after all, after her father had taken her aside and suggested that Nappa would be an excellent choice for a mate.

She sighed. "Look brother, I'm not here to relive the past…"

"Then what _are_ you here for?"

"I…I have a child. A daughter. And I need a place to leave her, a place where she will be safe, while Tur…my mate and I sort a few things out."

Goku and Bulma exchanged wide-eyed glances.

Vegeta sneered. "The undefeatable Crusher Corps having a bit of trouble?" he taunted.

Cora closed her eyes wearily. "If you care to know, the Crusher Corps disbanded a while ago."

This interested him in spite of himself. "How?"

"What's the Crusher Corps?" Goku piped up from the couch.

The two siblings turned to stare at him and Bulma – they'd almost forgotten they were there.

"Mercenaries," Vegeta explained after a pause. "Turles," the name came out with a level of disgust that rivalled the one he used for Frieza, "used to work for Frieza. Then he and a bunch of other lowlifes deserted, and ran off to terrorize a neighboring galaxy." He turned to his sister. "They were quite effective, from what I heard."

"Yes, well," Cora picked at her spandex, "I won't bore you with the details, but a while back we took a job on a planet in Sector X67-9B. It used to be Frieza's, and when he died there was a big civil war over the stupid place. We got called in to settle it." She sighed, remembering. "It was actually a pretty easy job. But then, a few years ago, there was another little tussle and the group that we…," she paused. Annihilated would be a good description for what they'd done. Certainly accurate. But it seemed vulgar somehow, in this strange place with a brother who hated her and two complete strangers. "…defeated," she continued, "took over. Apparently, they're a little upset over our involvement in the first war, so they've been chasing us across the galaxy, picking us off." She held out her hands, staring at them – Vegeta felt a strange jolt in his stomach as he recognized the gesture, something she did when she was upset. "At first, it wasn't a real problem. It was almost like a game. But now they're using different tactics, separating one person from the group and then ganging up on him, or waiting outside pubs for us, to try and take advantage. Things like that.

"We decided to split up, temporarily, to try and throw them off, make them think we're done for. But those persistent little bastards…"

"They're not going to come here looking for you, are they?!" Bulma shrieked in horror.

Cora shook her head. "Don't worry, we're not staying here. Turles and I are going on the offensive. We have a plan that'll get them off our backs once and for all. But…," she paused, turning to Vegeta's scowling face, "we don't want to get our daughter involved."

"And why not?" Vegeta said. "Surely she can take care of herself."

"They don't know about her," Cora said. "She was really young when we took the job originally, never even left the ship. So they're not after her, but if they see her with us she'll become a target. So far we've been careful, but with the way things are going we won't be able to hide her anymore. We just want her someplace safe and out of the way, so that if things…don't work out, she won't be in any danger."

"And you want her to stay here? That's what you came for? To ask me to babysit your little brat?"

His sister raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar Earth-ism, but didn't bother to ask for a clarification. "Essentially," she said.

"How long do you think you'd be gone for?" Goku asked.

"A few months probably."

"Absolutely not! I don't want anything of yours on this planet, let alone my house, for any amount of time!" Vegeta was shouting again.

"Oh come on Vegeta!" Goku protested. "You're not gonna seriously turn your own niece away, are you? When she could be in danger?"

"I don't have any nieces because I don't have any sisters," Vegeta retorted. He turned to his sister. "I don't care what happens to you, that slimeball or your little brat. Get the hell out of here and be grateful that all your limbs are still attached."

His sister opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by Goku. "Well if you won't take her in, I will."

The two siblings gaped at him. "What?!" Vegeta looked oddly horrified.

"Yeah!" Goku smiled at Cora. "She can come stay with my family. Our house is smaller than this one, but we can make room. I'll take good care of her, and my wife's cooking is a lot better than Bulma's." Bulma jabbed him with her elbow.

Cora gave him a big smile, which became a self-satisfied smirk when she turned to face her brother. "Well," she said, her voice triumphant, "this puts you in quite the predicament doesn't it, my lord?"

Vegeta gritted his teeth and glared at Goku's smiling face, willing the man to just drop dead right there. He forced himself to take a deep breath, before turning to his sister.

"Fine," he hissed through clenched teeth. "Bring the stupid brat." In his head, Goku was being disemboweled slowly.

Cora's face lit up with the joy of the victorious. "You are a kind and benevolent liege, Prince Vegeta," she said to him completely unsarcastically. "I am truly grateful. I will bring her in the morning."

She turned to leave, but stopped at the door to smile at Goku. "By the way," she said, "Turles is your uncle. Not sure if you knew that. You look a lot like him, so handsome." With a wink, she was out the door.

As they watched her retreating form, Goku said, "Gosh Vegeta, I really like your sister…"

"YOU IDIOT!" Vegeta was railing at him. This was probably the 312th time, so Goku didn't even flinch. "Well we can't just abandon the poor girl…"

"You really don't know what you did, do you?" Vegeta's face was red. "You idiot, when a request is made of a Saiyan, only someone of equal or higher status can meet it! You disrespected me! You made me look petty and small…"

"Huh?"

"YOU SHOWED ME UP IN FRONT OF MY SISTER!"

"I can't believe that's what you care about," Bulma said. "Do you realize that you just invited some girl we don't even know to live here for months on end without even _asking_ me? This is still my house you know!"

"Woman, the last thing I need right now is your ridiculous whining!" With that, the Prince of All Saiyans stomped out of the room.


	3. Chapter 3

Cora flew through the cool air towards her small family. That had gone better than she'd hoped.

When she'd first gotten the idea to go to her brother, Turles had refused outright. He was certain her brother would kill her on the spot. But she'd insisted. Her gut told her that somehow, it would work. Tarble had told her that Vegeta had his own family now, that he'd mellowed out a lot since getting out from under Frieza. And Tarble himself had been so nice to her and her family, so hospitable and accommodating, if ultimately useless, that she'd felt it was worth taking her chances with her other sibling.

Admittedly, the reason Tarble had been so nice to her was because he had no recollection of his older sister.

Tarble was just a baby when Cora had hightailed it off planet, but Vegeta had been a lot older. There was no love lost between the two siblings. Cora resented him from the day he was born. For ten years she had been the only child in the royal family, pampered and waited on hand and foot, and then he'd come along, and it was as if his birth had wiped out her very existence. Suddenly there was a boy, an _heir,_ strong and healthy, and her father was pleased, so excited to take his precious namesake under his wing.

It had never bothered her before that her father showed little interest in her. She just assumed that he was not particularly affectionate or interested in kids – it wasn't a strange thing for Saiyan fathers, or even mothers for that matter. But when Vegeta had come along, her father had no problem taking him everywhere, following his progress in battle skills, teaching him the ways of royalty, addressing him as _my son._ And she'd realized that it wasn't that her father was unaffectionate, it was that he was unaffectionate _to her._

Logically, it should have made her hate her father. Now, as an adult and parent, she could see that. But as a child, she'd hated her brother. She would try to undermine him in silly, childish ways, hiding his things, ruining his ceremonial outfits, putting worms in his bed. Anything to wipe that smug smile off his stupid face. When Frieza had come for him, forced her father to hand him over as essentially a hostage, she could barely hide her joy. _Serves him right, the arrogant little prick,_ she'd thought. _Sucks to be the heir now, doesn't it?_

Oddly enough, if Vegeta hadn't been taken she might not have ended up running away. She couldn't rebel against him when he wasn't there, so she began to do more dangerous things. Sneaking out of the palace late at night to go to sleazy bars where returning fighters would hang out and get drunk. She'd met Turles one of those nights. He'd been sitting in a corner, alone, and as she turned from the bar their eyes met.

Then he'd winked.

They would see each other, night after night, whenever he was on planet. It seemed harmless at first – they were just talking. She wasn't really serious about him. How could she be? She was a princess and he was from a low-class family. His mother wasn't even a fighter, she did something at the markets for the love of the gods! He was lucky she'd even looked at him.

But then he'd told her about his plan to get out from under Frieza, and she'd seen him in a new light. He was ambitious, smart, creative, brave and strong. And handsome. So, so handsome.

One night after he'd let her in on some of the details of his escape plan, she'd said, "You're so lucky. I wish I could get away from this stupid place."

"Come with me," he'd said.

At first she'd said no. It was insane! Yes, she was sick of the rules and believed, now, that the strict Saiyan class system was ridiculous and illogical. She wanted to be with him. She resented her father, who had continued to ignore her existence even after Vegeta was gone. But she couldn't just leave!

Then her father had suggested she marry Nappa.

Two weeks later she was in Turles' spaceship (well, he'd stolen it), waving goodbye gleefully at Planet Vegeta as they rocketed away from her father, from Frieza, from the whole galaxy. As far as she was concerned, she would never see the red planet again.

Then Frieza blew it up.

At first she thought her brother was dead. She had grieved, and was shocked that she grieved. No matter what, Vegeta was still her brother and he was so young. It was just cruel.

They were the last two Saiyans, until they weren't. There were rumors going around, in planets on the edge of Frieza's grip, that there were a few survivors. And then they weren't rumors but corroborated reports of three survivors who were still working for Frieza, including her brother and Turles' erstwhile nephew Raditz. And of course, Nappa.

When she'd heard the news, verified it, she'd wanted to contact her brother. Turles tried to talk her out of it, saying that her brother was probably angry over her escape and would reject her, or worse, hand them over to Frieza. Turles still had a bounty on his head for deserting the tyrant's forces.

"Frieza will _kill_ him! There's no one to stop him anymore!" she'd yelled.

"Frieza will kill us both if we go anywhere near that ship!" he'd yelled back. "Or Vegeta will kill us! Either way we're dead."

"We may not have to get too close. Maybe there's a way we could contact him, discreetly. No one would find out."

"There is no way."

"There has to be!"

" _No."_

"If you wanted to find a way, you would. And I want you to find a way! Consider it an order!"

"An order?!"

"Yes, an order! From your Princess! Or have you forgotten?" She'd summoned her most haughty glare. It was a pretty bizarre about-face in retrospect. Suddenly she was obsessed with her brother, determined to save him, as she saw it. Perhaps it was because he was her only family now (she'd assumed Tarble was dead too), or because her entire race had been annihilated in one swoop and she felt a compulsion to save what remained of their line and their heritage. She never really knew. All she knew was that she wanted her brother away from Frieza at any cost.

Sure enough, Turles had found a way to make contact anonymously. Still, he was scared at what might happen if they went straight for Vegeta, who'd acquired a nasty reputation working for Frieza. Instead, they decided to go for the next best thing. Unfortunately, that thing was Nappa.

He'd refused to even bring up the idea of escape to her brother, telling her instead that she was a disgrace to their race ( _what race?! She'd wanted to scream at him_ ), and that only cowards ran away ( _yes, because being Frieza's slave was a sure sign of courage_ ). She'd wanted to try again, with Nappa, with Vegeta himself, even with Raditz, but Turles had had enough. They'd tried, at great risk to themselves, and now it was time to give it up. Her brother was alive and as well as he could be living under Frieza's thumb, and that would have to be enough for her.

Her last thought as she descended at the spaceship where her mate and daughter were waiting for her was _Damn Nappa._


	4. Chapter 4

As his sister flew across the night sky, Vegeta was lying in bed fuming. She had gotten her way again! Damn her! How did she do it?

She had always been like that, ever since they were kids. Somehow, she always managed to weasel her way out of trouble. Things always worked out the way she wanted. He looked over at the sleeping form of Bulma next to him. It was a woman thing, wasn't it? They all had this way, even though they were so weak, of getting what they wanted. But no, he thought, his sister was different. Bulma got her way by either yelling or seduction. Cora seemed to direct things, as though she had a psychic power, so that she always came out on top.

Manipulative bitch. And now her daughter was coming to live here. Gods, she would be just like her mother. Probably worse.

He was still angry at his sister, the way she'd humiliated him and his family when she ran off with that oaf. Frieza would bring it up whenever he ran out of things to taunt him over, making disgusting comments about how you couldn't expect a monkey to have any self-control. Even Raditz had mentioned it, once, when Vegeta was hammering into him about what a worthless piece of shit he was. Raditz threw it in his face that his uncle was off somewhere with Vegeta's sister, and Vegeta had beat him into a bloody pulp. He never mentioned it again.

He remembered the day after they'd discovered she'd run away. She'd left a note telling them not to worry. He had been with Frieza then, and his father had called him to tell him the shameful news.

"Son," his father had said solemnly, "Cora's actions have brought a great shame to our line and to our people. She has rejected our ways and tainted her royal bloodline."

Vegeta had nodded along, not fully understanding the implications of what his father was saying.

"She is no daughter to me, and no sister to you. Should she ever show her face again, I will kill her and rid our family of the taint she has caused."

"Yes father," Vegeta had replied. He had looked at his father's face in the screen, so sad and so uncharacteristically old, and felt a burning hate for his sister for causing this. He'd never particularly liked her – she was always playing nasty pranks on him and making cutting comments that he didn't know how to rebuff, and worst of all, she seemed to think she had some sort of authority over him just because she was older – but this was a step too far. He vowed to make good on his father's words.

And now, after all this time, after all the humiliation and shame he'd suffered because of her, she'd come waltzing back into his life as though it were nothing, asking him, _expecting_ him, to take her daughter in for gods only know how long. He should have killed her on the spot. Why hadn't he killed her? How had this happened?!

It was all Kakarot's fault! Damn him! Damn his entire family! They were like a plague, some kind of horrific disease that you could never be completely cured of, that got worse instead of getting better.

Vegeta rained curses on Kakarot's entire line and everyone even remotely related to him. Including his niece. Gods, his niece! As though he didn't have enough on his hands with his own children. How old was the girl anyway? Was she little? Gods, she wasn't an infant was she? He felt a deep sense of dread at the thought; he would be damned if he was changing diapers for Cora's little brat!

But no, she couldn't be that young, he reasoned, going over the conversation he'd had with his sister. Cora had said she was little when they'd first gotten involved with whatever planet they'd been cursed with. So she must be older now, but how much older? _When_ had all of this happened? Vegeta racked his brain, trying to glean something definite from his sister's words. Damn her! She was always like this, so impossibly vague, you could never pinpoint exactly what had been said with her. He could see her now in his mind's eye, hear her younger self telling him " _No, that's not what I said,"_ in that superior voice of hers that he so loathed, thus effectively weaseling her way out of any promise she'd made to him.

Damn her! Damn her to hell! He should have killed her when he had the chance. Why hadn't he?

And then the look on Trunks' face rose unbidden in his mind, the confusion and fear as he watched his father threaten a strange woman who was just standing there, not even attempting to defend herself.

Damn it.

This planet was cursed, he was convinced of it. Since the day he landed on this pathetic mudball his entire life had been turned upside down. And now he had _children,_ and a _wife,_ and socialized with Kakarot at his daughter's birthday party instead of killing him and blowing up the place.

Vegeta sighed. Maybe he could kill his sister tomorrow.

As his eyes closed, exhausted from the events of the day, Vegeta wondered if his niece looked anything like his mother…


	5. Chapter 5

The next day Vegeta awoke with a sense of dread in his stomach. Had last night really happened? Maybe a miracle would occur and it would turn out that the whole ridiculous incident had been just a dream brought on by too much sugar.

As he made his way to the kitchen, he could hear Bulma's voice: "…and so now she's coming to live with us for a little while."

He gritted his teeth. This was really going to happen, wasn't it?

He walked into the kitchen to find Bulma holding a conference over breakfast with Trunks, Bulla, and Dr. and Mrs. Briefs.

"Oh Vegeta!" the cheerful blonde woman squealed as he came in. "This is so exciting! I didn't even know you had a niece. It'll be nice to finally meet our in-laws!"

Vegeta grunted at her in response as he sat at the table.

Suddenly, the intercom buzzed. "Is that them already?" Bulma cried.

"No," Vegeta responded as he got up to open the door.

"What do you want?" he growled at the smiling faces of the Son family. Well, three out of four anyway. Chi Chi looked as worried as she'd ever been.

"Hey Vegeta!" Goku said. "I just thought we'd all come by and give your niece a proper welcome!"

"Why?"

"Well, she is my niece too."

"Cousin," interjected Gohan.

"Yeah!" said Goku, not missing a beat. "We all wanna meet her." He looked up, shielding his eyes from the sun's glare. "Looks like they're on their way."

Reluctantly, Vegeta moved over to let them in, but opted to wait outside for his surprise guests while the Sons caught up with the events unfolding at Capsule Corp.

A few minutes later, his sister and her small family landed on the front lawn. Cora was the only one to approach him – she was trying hard not to give her brother that triumphant smile that she knew he hated for fear of him changing his mind. Her mate and daughter held back, unsure of the prince's reaction.

"My lord," his sister addressed him politely, "thank you for doing this…"

"You brought _him,"_ Vegeta sneered, glaring at the man standing a few feet away. He looked very much like Goku, except that his face was scarred and his demeanor more menacing; it was hard to imagine Goku's goofy smile on that face.

"Yes, well, he just wanted to see his daughter off, that's all," Cora said. She motioned to her daughter to come closer, hoping to redirect Vegeta's attention. "This is Acia," she said gesturing to the girl, who gave her uncle a deep, respectful bow.

Vegeta felt that same jolt in his stomach he'd felt the day before, the jolt of recognition. Acia was his mother's name, although the girl didn't look particularly like the late queen. She looked to be about Gohan's age, which was a relief. Her hair was a little longer than Cora's, hitting just above her shoulders, the spiky ends curling inwards. She also had bangs, cut in a straight line and almost completely covering her forehead. Beneath them, long lashes surrounded large round eyes, a feature she'd gotten from her father's side of the family. She was about his height and rather skinny, Vegeta noted, but toned – clearly, being chased across the galaxy gave one ample opportunities to train, although he could sense that the girl's strength was pretty average for a Saiyan woman her age. Disappointing, considering her heritage.

Vegeta let his shoulders relax. The girl didn't look like his mother, but she did look strangely familiar, as though he'd seen her features on others before. The shape of her face and her high cheekbones in particular spoke to him – those were definitely royal traits. She was, he had to admit, a pretty girl, and was surprised to find that the realization pleased him, as though he'd had a hand in her beauty somehow.

Just as he was about to let the girl in and dismiss her parents, Goku came bounding up behind him. Vegeta was cursing him in his head before he'd even opened his mouth.

"Hey!" Goku smiled cheerfully at the group. "This must be your daughter," he said to Cora as he turned to the young woman next to her. "Gosh, you're pretty!" A faint blush crept up the girl's cheeks. "You know you're my niece too, right?"

"Cousin, actually," Cora corrected, a bemused smile on her face.

"Yeah, that. Well, what are you guys standing out here for? Come on in, we're having breakfast!"

"Actually we've already eaten. We're just here to drop Acia off." Although they had eaten, Cora also didn't want to risk pushing her brother too far – the years apart had not diminished her memory of Vegeta's destructive temper. She'd already twisted his arm into taking her girl in, asking him to sit at a table with the man who, in his eyes, had dishonored him and his family, was too much.

Cora placed one hand on her daughter's shoulder and took her hand with the other, squeezing both gently. Smiling at the girl, she said, "Now, you must obey Prince Vegeta, he is not just your prince but your uncle as well. So don't cause him any trouble. We'll be back for you soon." Acia didn't respond but her wide eyes practically screamed, _please don't leave me._

Turles approached his daughter. Close up, Goku could see that they looked almost exactly alike, and for the first time he found himself curious about his parents and family. When Raditz had first appeared Goku had been too worried about Gohan and the threat of the approaching Saiyans to think too hard about his origins, and afterwards it never really occurred to him again. But now, looking at his uncle, Goku couldn't help but wonder if his father looked like him too.

Acia reached out a hand as though to squeeze her father's, as her mother had done. Instead, Turles grabbed her arm and pulled her to him, a move she clearly hadn't expected. He held her against him, his face lowered into her hair, for what must have just barely been five seconds. Then, pushing her away as suddenly as he had grabbed her, Turles turned and launched into the air without a word.

Cora turned to leave as well, but paused to turn to her brother. "Vegeta, you have my undying gratitude," she said simply, before giving her daughter one last smile and taking off.

As Acia watched her parents disappear into the bright morning sky, Goku came up to her, putting an arm around her shoulders. She flinched away instinctively. "It's okay," he said, smiling at her. "They'll be back soon, and you're really gonna like it here. Earth's a great place!"

Acia stared into his face, that face that was so like her father's and yet so different, and fought the urge to scream, to cry, to chase after her parents and beg them, _please, please don't leave me._

 _Not again._

Instead, she allowed herself to be led by Goku into the Capsule Corp compound. As she passed Vegeta, he said to her, "Get rid of that scouter. You won't be needing it here."

"I just think it's dangerous!" Chi Chi's agitated voice vibrated from the kitchen. "I mean, her parents are _mercenaries_! Who knows what she's been up to?! She's probably been killing and destroying right along with them. And now she's coming to live here! What if she starts killing people or blowing things up…"

"Well then, that would be very stupid of her now wouldn't it?" Vegeta growled as he came in, Goku and Acia following.

Everyone turned to look at them with curious faces – except for Chi Chi, who was frowning. "Guys, say hi to…" Goku turned to look at the young girl, "…wait, what was your name?"

"Acia," Vegeta said. "As you know, Acia will be staying here for a while, and while she's here she will do what she's told and not cause any trouble," he gave the girl a pointed look, "or else." With that, he sat at the table to resume his meal.

"Are you sure you're not hungry?" Goku asked. Acia shook her head.

"Well, I'm done with my meal," Bulma said as she got up. "Come on," she gestured to the girl to follow her. "I'll give you a tour of the place, show you your room."

"Wow, she's really pretty."

"Goten!" Trunks said, exasperated. "Don't be such a dork."

An hour later, Acia was lying on the bed in the guest room that had been assigned to her. The Capsule Corp compound was insanely huge and it had taken forever for the blue-haired woman to show her around. Not that she'd been paying attention. This whole thing felt like a bad dream, and Acia was desperate to wake up.

Acia had not developed a good first impression of life on Earth thus far. For one thing, the blue-haired woman – her aunt, as she would have to start thinking about her – had not stopped talking the _entire time_ she was showing her around the house.

"My name's Bulma by the way. I'm Vegeta's wife, so I guess that makes me your aunt! But don't call me aunt, that'll just make me feel old. Call me Bulma! Acia's a really pretty name. Did you meet my kids, Trunks and Bulla? I guess you haven't really been formally introduced to everyone yet, but that's okay, there'll be plenty of time for you to meet everyone…

"Do you have any extra clothes? Not that it matters, we'll have to get you some regular stuff to wear anyway. I know how attached you Saiyans are to your weird outfits, but that stuff just doesn't fly around here. Guess we'll have to schedule a shopping trip! In the meantime you can borrow some of my stuff, I think we're about the same size…

"I picked a room with an en suite bathroom for you so you'd have some privacy. Let me just show you how everything works. You know when Vegeta first came here he didn't know what soap was? I guess you don't have that in space huh? You know…

Acia was not excited about the prospect of wearing Earth clothes. Bulma had left her a few shirts and a couple pairs of pants which she'd examined. The fabric felt strange, and the pants in particular seemed oddly stiff. There didn't seem to be any room for her tail either.

Then there was Kakarot. Acia had recognized him from her mother's description and knew he was her father's nephew. Of course, she'd heard about him before – he was known all over the galaxy as the man who killed Frieza, although having met him Acia was finding that hard to believe. She was starting to resent his presence here - it seemed cruel that a man could look so much like her father and yet be so different from him. This whole thing was like a cosmic joke being made at her expense, and Acia didn't like being the butt of anyone's joke.

Her only hope was that her parents wouldn't be gone too long. In the meantime, she resolved to train as hard as she could so that when her parents returned, they would see that she wasn't the liability they thought she was.

The young Saiyan's thoughts were interrupted by a tentative knock at the door and the sound of squeaky hinges. She sat up to see three small children peeking at her from the door.

"Hi!" offered the black-haired boy. Acia figured he must be Kakarot's son – he was a virtual mini-me of the older man, right down to the goofy expression on his face. That must mean the other two were her uncle's children; Bulma – what a strange name – had mentioned two kids. What were their names again?

Without waiting for an invitation, a small blue-haired girl – _definitely Bulma's kid,_ Acia thought – came up to the bed and crawled up, and the two boys followed her lead. Acia drew her knees up to her chest to make room for them. She hadn't been around children this young in a long time and wasn't sure what they wanted, but she figured it would be in her favor to play nice.

"I'm Bulla," the little girl informed her. "This is my brother Trunks," she pointed to a lavender-haired boy sitting at Acia's side, "and that's Goten," she gestured to the miniature Kakarot sitting in front of her.

 _What odd names,_ Acia thought. Outwardly, she simply nodded.

"Can she speak English?" Trunks questioned with a frown on his face. Acia turned to him. "I can speak your language, yes."

"Good."

"Can we see your tail?" Goten asked. "I've never seen anyone with a tail before."

Acia suddenly noticed that none of the children had tails. Her eyes widened in shock – how had she not seen that before? "You don't have tails?!" she asked in surprise. "Why not?"

Goten shrugged. "I don't know, we just never had them. Gohan had one when he was little but he had it removed. Dad too."

Acia didn't know who Gohan was and didn't really care. She was too busy trying to wrap her mid around the idea of tail-less Saiyans. "What do you mean he had it removed?"

"Kami took it off and then did some magic so it wouldn't grow back."

"That's awful!" Acia's eyes were wide with horror, her tail tightening around her possessively. _What kind of evil wizard is this Kami person?_

"No but he had too!" Goten protested. "It turned him into a monster, and then Piccolo had to blow up the moon but then we want to have a moon so…"

Trunks punched her in the face.

Or at least, he tried to. Even caught up in Goten's rambling, Acia sensed the ten-year-old's movement and raised her arm, blocking his fist. She turned to meet his eyes.

"Trunks, that wasn't very nice!" Goten cried, lips pouting.

Trunks shrugged. "She's a Saiyan, she oughta be able to take a punch. Besides, she blocked it."

"Are you a fighter too?" Bulla asked.

Acia cocked an eyebrow. "Of course." _What kind of Saiyan_ wasn't _a fighter?_

"We should spar," Trunks said. "I'd like to see what you're made of. I bet I could beat you, no sweat."

"Sounds fun," Acia replied, smirking. The cocky little brat would be eating his words soon enough.

"So can we see your tail?" Goten asked.

"Yeah, please!" Bulla said.

Acia hesitated. These children were harmless enough, but the idea that Saiyans were having their tails removed permanently by this Kami person scared her. With her, it wouldn't even be that hard – she had long since passed the age where her tail would grow back if it was damaged or removed.

On the other hand, it wasn't like she could hide it.

Slowly, Acia let go of her knees, stretching her legs out on the bed to reveal the tail wrapped around her waist like a furry belt. "Wow," Goten exclaimed in a hushed whisper, reaching out with a small hand to feel it. She caught his wrist in a firm grip. "No."

"Aww, why not? I just wanna touch it. I won't pull, I swear!"

"It's not polite to touch people's tails."

"How come?" Trunks challenged.

"Yeah, how come?"

Acia paused. Her mother had told her, many times, that touching or grabbing someone's tail, particularly if they were of the opposite sex, was considered a come-on in Saiyan culture. That's why tails were always wrapped around the waist, not only to prevent unscrupulous enemies from taking advantage of this natural weak point, but also because waving your tail around was considered a sign that you were 'available' and trying to attract attention. Only family members could touch each other's tails. Goten was technically family, but Acia had just met him and their relation was not close enough to merit that kind of intimacy.

Acia searched for words to explain all this to three curious children but failed to find them. "It's just not. You've seen it, that's enough."

Goten was about to protest some more but was interrupted by Bulma, who had come to tell him that his family was leaving. "You kids haven't been bothering Acia, have you? She just got here, you could give her a day to adjust."

"We weren't bothering her Mama!" Bulla said as the three children descended from their cousin's bed. "We were just welcoming her to the family." The girl gave her mother her most charming smile.

"Mm-hmm," her mother responded skeptically. "Well, come on now, out you go."

"Bye Acia!" Goten called out as he headed to the door. "It was nice meeting you." The teen gave him a small nod in acknowledgement.

"We'll spar tomorrow," Trunks informed her, closing the door behind him.

 _Finally,_ Acia thought as she lay back down, whispering a silent prayer to all the gods who could hear her that her parents would come for her soon.


	6. Chapter 6

Acia woke up early the next day – the sun had not yet risen fully and the house was quiet. Taking advantage of the stillness, Acia pulled out her scouter, which she'd placed in a drawer in the nightstand. Her uncle had told her to get rid of it, so she'd resolved to stop wearing it around the house. However, she could still use it as a communicator. Carefully, she placed it over her face and turned it on, hoping against hope that she would pick up her parents.

After a few silent minutes, Acia sighed wearily and removed the device. She wasn't picking up anything at all on the communicator, which meant that her father had disconnected her from the main communications hub that connected the Crusher Corps' scouters.

Again.

He called it a 'safety precaution,' so that if someone got access to the main hub they wouldn't be able to see or find her. All it meant to her was that he thought of her as a liability – and that the danger her parents were in was much larger than they were willing to admit.

Fighting to contain the rage of emotions inside her – anger, humiliation, fear – Acia focused on preparing for the day. After a quick shower, the Saiyan examined the clothes Bulma had left her once again. Removing her towel, Acia tackled the pants first. They were as bad as she had imagined. The fabric scratched at her skin and was uncomfortable to move in, despite being loose on her body. The top of the jeans hit her lower back right where her tail grew out, pressing painfully into the furry appendage. No, she decided, this clearly wasn't going to work. She removed the pants and put her dark gray leotard back on, pulling the straps up and over her chest and arms.

 _Much better,_ she thought.

Suddenly, the door opened. She turned to find Vegeta standing in the doorway, frowning at his young niece. "We need to talk," he said to her in Saiyan, walking into the room and closing the door.

He paused, arms crossed. "You need to understand that you are here against my wishes. Therefore I won't tolerate any misbehavior from you. I don't know how you were raised or what was expected from you while you were with your father's band of lowlifes, although I can certainly guess," Vegeta sneered. "This planet is a peaceful one, and we've worked hard to keep it that way. _I've_ worked hard to keep it that way.

"You will not leave the premises without my express permission. If you do go anywhere, and that's a big if, you will be accompanied by someone I approve of at all times. You will not interact with the humans in any way. You will not harm anything or anyone. You will _absolutely_ not transform at any time under _any circumstances_. You will not attempt to contact any of your space pals." He glanced around the room. "Where's your scouter?"

Acia moved slowly towards the drawer where she kept the device. "If I want to contact my parents…"

"You will do no such thing," Vegeta said firmly. "You will see your parents when they come to retrieve you, and that's final. I'm not risking whoever it is that's after them coming here to pick a fight."

Acia bit her lip but said nothing, handing the device over to her uncle's waiting hand.

"Finally, you will respect Bulma's authority in this house. She may be human, but she is my wife and I expect you to treat her as you would treat me. Is that understood?"

"Yes, your highness," the girl said in a small voice. The title, said in his native language, took Vegeta by surprise for a minute, but he recovered quickly.

"Good," he said, then left the room.

* * *

Later that morning, Acia joined the Briefs' for breakfast in their spacious kitchen, wearing her gray leotard and, in place of her traditional Saiyan armor, an oversized light blue t-shirt emblazoned with the Capsule Corp logo provided to her by Bulma. Avoiding her uncle's gaze, she nodded politely at the cheerful greetings that came her way and quietly helped herself to some food. Some of it was unfamiliar but it all smelled good, and she hadn't had much to eat the day before.

Bulma smiled as she observed the young girl eating. "Well, you're not as bad as Vegeta or Trunks, but that's still quite an appetite you got there!"

Acia looked up from her food to see that humans at the table were eating significantly less than the Saiyans. Suddenly she felt embarrassed.

"Well you better eat up 'cause we're sparring after this."

"Trunks, your tutor will be here in an hour."

"Don't worry mom," the child said smugly. "I don't think this is gonna take too long."

"I would also like to see them spar," Vegeta said suddenly. His eyes met those of his niece. "Let's see if your mother managed to teach you anything useful."

Acia bit the inside of her cheek. Her mother had warned her that her uncle could be a grade-A dick and told her to be patient, but Acia wasn't used to being taunted like this and her patience was rapidly running out. She may not be able to talk back to Vegeta, but she'd be happy to snap his little brat's neck in retaliation. Wiping her mouth with a napkin, she got up from the table and motioned towards Trunks. "Lead the way."

Trunks, Acia and the rest of the Briefs gathered in Capsule Corp's spacious back lawn. Trunks and Acia faced off as Bulma and her daughter sat on the grass while Vegeta leaned against the wall, arms crossed as usual.

In a blur of movement, Trunks launched himself at his older cousin. He was much faster and stronger than Acia had expected, but she was still able to block his attacks effectively. After a few minutes, however, it became clear to the teen that despite his small size, she was not going to be able to simply overpower the young boy.

Acia felt her frustration mounting. _I'll be damned if I let this little brat shame me in front of_ him, she thought. Trunks may be faster and stronger than her, but Acia was older and, growing up with her father's mercenaries, had been in a lot more battles than the ten-year-old, many of which she had to fight for her life in. If she couldn't overpower him, she could sure as hell outmaneuver him.

Quickly Acia disappeared, reappearing behind her cousin. Trunks sensed her movement, shooting back with a kick to her head. But Acia was ready for him; blocking his kick with her arm, she grabbed his ankle while sweeping one leg under his, flipping him over and grabbing his other ankle.

Acia smiled down at the boy as she held him by his ankles in midair.

"Hey, no fair!" Trunks squealed in protest, kicking his legs. Acia tightened her grip – for such a small kid, he was really giving her a hard time. "Give it up kid."

"Forget it! I'm just getting started," Trunks said as he reached out to grab her ankles.

"I don't think so," she smirked, whipping her tail out from under her shirt and wrapping it tightly around his wrists. Trunks squirmed violently against her, but Acia kept her grip. "Come on Trunks," she coaxed. "Don't make me hurt you."

"No. WAY!" Trunks yelled, flinging himself forward and out of her grip with such force she could barely believe her own eyes. Trunks hovered above her for a second before launching himself at her again with renewed vigor. Acia recovered quickly from her shock – after everything she'd seen it would take more than that to put her off her guard – and blocked his attack. But he was going at her faster and harder now and she was having to use a lot more energy and concentration to keep him from landing a hit. She was completely on the defensive now, being pushed back more and more by the lavender-haired boy.

Acia's brain was working on overdrive as she blocked hit after hit. He was strong and fast, but he was also small and fighting erratically, both things she could use against him.

When Trunks threw his next punch Acia leaned back and grabbed his wrist. Twisting his arm with as much force as she could muster, she turned him around, grabbed his hair with her free hand, wrapped her tail tightly around his chest, and, finally, brought her legs over and behind his, holding his ankles tightly in place with her own.

Despite being completely immobilized in midair, Trunks was still struggling against his captor. "OWWWW."

"Call it off Trunks."

"NO WAY!" Trunks tried to pull away as he'd done before, but Acia pulled him back by his hair, making him scream again.

"There's only one way you're getting out of this, and that's when I _choose_ to let you go."

In truth, Acia was using every ounce of strength she had to keep the boy in place. _How is he this strong? He's just a little boy! He's not even a real Saiyan! I mean, look at his hair!_

"Alright, I've seen enough."

Acia looked down to see that Vegeta had left his place at the wall and was standing almost directly below them.

"But dad…" Trunks began to protest, but Acia had already let him go and drifted down to her uncle. She crossed her arms, unconsciously mimicking his posture. "He's not hurt."

Vegeta smirked. "I know." Actually, Vegeta had sensed from the spike in his son's _ki_ that he was preparing to go Super Saiyan, and he didn't see the point in having the fight escalate any further. Besides, he'd already gotten a good sense of what his niece was capable of, and that was all he really wanted from this match. "You're not bad."

 _Not bad?!_ Acia resisted the urge to knee her uncle in the groin, instead giving him a terse nod.

"Aww dad!" Trunks was standing next to them now. "It was just starting to get fun," he whined, ruffling his hair in an attempt to fix it from the altercation. He glared up at his cousin. "You fight dirty. Grabbing someone's hair is a low blow."

Acia snorted. The concept of 'fighting dirty' was one she regarded with disdain. She fought to win, and she did what needed to be done to make sure she won. If she spent too much time worried about the ethics of her tactics she'd be dead. "You should learn to take defeat with grace," she said with the smugness of the victor. It was something her father always told her when she inevitably lost to him in one of their practice fights. It felt good to finally be the one to say it.

"Yeah well, you got lucky. Next we fight I'm gonna win."

"We'll see."

Bulma and Bulla came up to them. "That was so cool!" Bulla squealed. "I can't believe you beat Trunks! I didn't think anyone could beat Trunks except Daddy."

"Hey! You're supposed to be rooting for _me._ "

"Alright Trunks, you'd better get ready for your tutor," Bulma said. "You too Bulla, time to go to school." Bulla was staring up at her cousin with hero worship in her eyes. "I didn't know girls could fight as good as boys!"

"Bulla! You know girls can do anything boys can do!" Bulma was appalled at her daughter's statement.

"Yeah, but only the boys ever fight," Bulla pointed out. Acia raised a brow. "You mean you don't know how to fight?"

"No. I can fly though!"

Acia looked at her uncle in surprise. Bulla was way past the age a Saiyan should begin training, and she couldn't believe the prince, of all people, had let his daughter miss this important milestone. _So he's got one kid with the strength of full-grown man, and another kid who can't throw a punch? Gods this is strange._

"You could teach me, right?!" Bulla's eyes were shining.

"Umm…"

"You said you didn't want to train!" Vegeta glared at his daughter, recalling just how many times he'd tried to coax her into throwing a few punches with him.

"That's 'cause Trunks said you were a meanie." She turned to her cousin. "Come on Acia, say you'll train me! Please!"

Acia looked to her uncle, unsure of how he would react to this development.

Vegeta sighed wearily. Shrugging his shoulders, he said, "Its fine by me," before walking back into the house.

"Yay!" Bulla squealed. "After school, okay? This is gonna be so much fun!" she said excitedly as she ran towards the house.

Bulma smiled at Acia. "Looks like you've got a fan," she said before turning to follow her daughter.


	7. Chapter 7

A few days into her stay at Capsule Corp and Acia has a satisfactory, if dull, routine. Breakfast, spar with Trunks (whom she discovers is a persistent little bastard who doesn't know when to say die and has made it his personal mission to best her once and for all; so far he's managed to beat her twice), train, lunch, train some more, then, upon Bulla's arrival from her Earth school, teach her some basic fighting skills, followed by dinner and watching television with the kids.

A dull routine, particularly since the low gravity of Earth (compared to what she's used to) makes training rather ineffective. Her father, something of technological genius, had guided her training with a whole host of gadgets, including simulated fight scenarios which he would record and watch with her afterwards, pointing out flaws in her technique. Without these tools, Acia's ability to train to her full potential is limited, but even she knows better than to ask to use the Gravity Room. But she consoles herself with the thought that it's better than nothing, and sparring with Trunks certainly keeps her on her toes. The food is good and plentiful, and Acia is no longer shy about how much she eats compared to her human hosts. Television is an interesting phenomenon, and one she can't help but be amused by.

In her days on board the Crusher Corps ship, Acia spent her free time either training, doing chores or studying, mostly spaceship mechanics and technology – as she got older her father made her in charge of reconnaissance for upcoming missions, so she learned a lot about the politics and culture of different planets and the anatomy of alien lifeforms. Mindless entertainment was rare, although there was the occasional stop at a peaceful planet or a trading outpost to pick up supplies and drink weird forms of alcohol. Sometimes her parents and the other mercenaries would tell her stories about their lives on their home worlds and their adventures before she'd been born.

On Planet Earth, mindless entertainment is a daily thing. Acia sits with her little cousins on the couch in the family room, watching a crudely drawn bird run, beeping ( _an odd sound for fowl to make,_ she thinks), from a wolf who spends his time coming up with elaborate schemes to drop heavy objects on said bird, thus obtaining it for its meal. Every episode, as far as she can tell, is the same: the wolf's scheme backfires and instead he is the one crushed under the object, while the bird beeps and runs off happily. Improbably, the wolf then _gets back up,_ seemingly unhurt (or at least not hurt enough), and a variation of this same plot is then repeated ad nauseum.

Even more improbably, Acia discovers that she really, _really_ likes this show. Something about it really speaks to her – whether it's the mindless violence without consequences, the admirable persistence of the wolf in the face of repeated failure, or the hilarious beeping sound the bird makes, she isn't sure. Regardless, she's happy to watch, laughing along with her cousins at the ridiculous antics. They watch other shows too, but Acia finds her mind drifting off whenever anything with a more complicated plot is on. Instead, she'll find herself observing the two small demi-saiyans as they laugh at their shows and, more often than not, tussle with each other. Trunks can be a bit of a bully to his younger sister and although she can tell that he doesn't mean to hurt her, he sometimes forgets his own strength. Watching them, she sometimes wonders what it would have been like to have a sibling of her own.

 _At least I wouldn't be all alone here._

So then, a dull routine but a routine nonetheless, and one Acia fully intends to maintain when she walks into the kitchen on a Saturday morning and right into Bulma's plans.

"Hi!" the blue-haired woman greeted her enthusiastically as the helper bots scurried around her. "Listen, eat quick 'cause these guys wanna start setting up in here to get the food ready for the barbeque."

 _Oh right_ , Acia thought as she made herself a plate. _That._ Bulma had been talking about this yesterday while they were shopping. Vegeta had very reluctantly allowed his wife to take Acia to a mall downtown to purchase some Earth clothes, and the two had been accompanied by Bulla, a yellow-haired woman with a number for a name, and her daughter, who was about Bulla's age.

"Eighteen is a very powerful warrior. She could snap your neck just as easily as she would shake your hand, and if you try anything funny while you're out today, she has my full permission to do so. Is that clear?" Vegeta had said pointedly.

Acia had just shrugged. She couldn't sense any _ki_ from the blonde woman at all, which was bizarre – even Bulma and her parents had weak _ki_ emanating from them. In any case it didn't matter because she had no intention of causing any trouble. For now at least.

Shopping had been simultaneously exhilarating and exhausting. Acia had been all over the galaxy and had seen everything there was to see in terms of clothing and fabric, but she'd never actually worn anything except her Saiyan battle outfit. So the idea that all this variety was now available to her was exciting, and she'd happily allowed Bulma and Eighteen to lead her to store after store, trying on everything they picked out for her. But the endless variety was overwhelming and some of the outfits were really uncomfortable, especially with her tail. Bulma and Eighteen were not deterred, however, and by the end of the day, Acia had several new outfits and a new fighting student. Eighteen's daughter Marron couldn't believe it when Bulla had told her that Acia had defeated Trunks in a spar on more than one occasion.

"Wow! Can you teach me too?" she'd asked Acia, wide-eyed.

Eighteen turned to her daughter. "I don't think that's such a good idea honey."

"Why not? You fight Momma!"

"Not anymore."

"It can't hurt for her to learn a little bit," Acia suggested. "She's only human, but she can still learn to defend herself."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I'll never be as strong as a Saiyan," Marron said dejectedly.

"Strength isn't the only thing. A battle is fought with the mind first and the body second," Acia said. It was something her mother used to tell her.

"Momma?"

Eighteen sighed. She was one of the most powerful beings on the planet, but she was completely helpless in front of that face. "Let's talk to your dad about it first, okay?"

"YAY!" the little girl had squealed delightedly – if it was a matter of getting her father's approval, then she'd already won.

And all of that, Acia now recalled, was in preparation for today, so that, as Bulma had said, she would have something nice and suitably human to wear for this "meet the Earthlings" party. As she shoveled her breakfast in her mouth, Acia resolved to pay more attention to what Bulma said from now on – the woman talked so much Acia's instinct was to just tune her out, but it was becoming clear that she was the one in charge here so it was probably a good idea to make note of the things she said.

* * *

A few hours later Acia came out onto the lawn in a short pink dress with cap sleeves and dark blue leggings that hit her mid-calf, her tail extending from a small, well-made hole the Bulma had sown into the two garments. She'd thought she looked quite nice – shopping was excruciating, she'd decided, but it was worth it.

The party got off to a rocky start, not least because as soon as the guests had arrived Acia marched right up to Goku and demanded to know if he had really become a Super Saiyan.

"Oh yeah! It was a while ago, back on Namek. Have you ever heard of a guy named Frieza?"

Acia's eyes bulged. _Had she ever heard of a guy named Frieza?_ Was there anyone who _hadn't_ heard of Frieza and the Legendary Super Saiyan who had finally defeated him, destroying an entire planet in the process?

She had never believed the stories – no one had. Even after it become clear that Frieza was truly gone for good, the whole idea of a Super Saiyan was absurd, a story like many that are told among warrior peoples. But then, during a morning spar, little Trunks had undergone an inexplicable transformation – the surge in power, the golden aura, the hair and eyes – it had been such a shock that all Acia could do was stand there, mouth agape, as her cousin charged at her, hitting her so hard she'd blacked out. Later, Trunks had claimed to be a Super Saiyan, and then her uncle had confirmed it, saying that not only he and Trunks but also Kakarot and his boys had achieved the transformation. Still, she didn't believe it because there was no such _thing_ as a Super Saiyan, it was just a myth, and even if there was it was beyond all logic that a half-breed child like Trunks could possibly be capable of it.

And now here was this man, the galaxy's greatest hero, saying that it was all true.

Acia didn't know what to do or say. Suddenly, she noticed that everyone was staring at her. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment and she quickly turned away, seating herself under a tree a good distance from everyone else.

She'd been sitting there for a few minutes wondering, not for the first time, if she shouldn't just steal a spaceship and try and find her parents or someone else from the troupe – it wasn't anything she hadn't done before, after all – when she heard footsteps approaching her.

"Hi!"

She looked up into the smiling faces of Goku and Gohan, whom she'd been introduced to as his son. At 19 years old Gohan was just two years older than her, and she remembered his name from her encounter with his little brother when she'd first arrived. The two sat down next to her as she made a mental note to find out more about this Kami from him later.

"So you've heard about the whole Super Saiyan thing huh?" Goku said.

"Trunks gave me a demonstration a few days ago," she replied through pursed lips.

"Yeah, he's really something else right? And so young too! It's amazing!"

Acia pulled up a few blades of grass.

"Did you want to hear about Namek?"

Her mouth said yes before her brain could make a judgement – after all, this was the single greatest story in the history of the galaxy, and she was about to get a firsthand account.

Gohan began to tell her about their journey to Namek in search of the dragonballs – which she'd also believed were just a made-up story even when she'd learned of them from an actual Namekian – and how they encountered Frieza there. Soon they were joined by Krillin, Eighteen and Tien.

"So wait," she said, turning to Krillin, "Frieza killed you and then, when you were saved by a miracle, you _went back_ to face him _again?!_ "

"Heh, yeah I guess," Krillin scratched the back of his head self-consciously as the girl looked at him with wide eyes.

"You weren't scared?"

"Oh I was terrified! But, I mean, I couldn't let him kill Gohan."

"Wow," Acia said reverentially. Here was this puny human whom she could probably defeat in battle, and yet he'd stood up to the most powerful force in the galaxy. He could have run and saved his own skin, but instead he'd chosen to risk his life for the sake of his friend's son. She almost couldn't believe it – it was the stuff of legend. "You're so brave."

Krillin's cheeks burned. He wasn't used to being the focus of admiration in a group that included Goku and Gohan. Eighteen put a possessive arm around him.

"He is brave," Goku said, smiling at his friend. "He's the bravest guy I know!"

"I always wondered though," Krillin said, "what happened with Frieza's planets after all that? Were they free, or did someone else take over?"

"Well," Acia straightened herself up as she tried to recall what she knew of the demise of the Cold Empire, "there was a lot of confusion at first, a lot of rumors going around. We heard all sorts of crazy things, including that Kakarot became a Super Saiyan" – Gohan and Goku exchanged grins – "that Namek had been destroyed with the force of the battle, all kinds of things. We didn't even really believe Frieza was dead to be honest, and it didn't seem to matter because nothing changed at first." She squirmed a bit under the gazes of her audience. "Frieza was the head of the Planet Trade Organization so things stalled there for a while, but the Cold Empire was still going strong and they handled whatever business got derailed after Frieza's death," she explained. "Then we heard more rumors that Frieza wasn't really dead, and people were saying that Planet Namek was just fine and all the Namekians on it were alive. But then," she paused, leaning forward with the attitude of one about to reveal a great secret, "about a year after Frieza was supposed to have been killed, King Cold _disappeared!"_

Acia looked at the faces around her. The revelation did not appear to have had the stunning effect she thought it would. "Just, you know, completely vanished! He was supposed to have gone on a mission somewhere, supposedly with Frieza, and then he just never came back! And no one ever heard from him _or_ Frieza again!" She paused again – the story of the greatest event to ever happen in the history of the universe seemed only to elicit amused smiles from her uncle's friends. _Well,_ she thought, _it's not like they would know King Cold from a hole in the ground._

"Anyway, after that there was a lot of infighting in both the PTO and the Cold Empire, and they both started to fall apart. And that was the end of it," she ended lamely.

There was a pause as the Earthlings exchanged knowing glances. "Well gosh," Goku said finally, "that's one heck of a story!"

Acia blinked. _Hey,_ she thought to herself, _they know, don't they? They know exactly what happened to Frieza_ and _King Cold! The greatest mystery in the galaxy, and this backwater planet has had the key to it this whole time!_

Before she could open her mouth to ask, however, Goten ran up to the young girl, followed closely by Trunks, Bulla and Marron.

"Hi!" he said excitedly, waving a hand in her face. "Is it true you beat Trunks?"

Trunks looked as glum as he ever had – word was getting around and his reputation was suffering.

"Wow, you beat Trunks huh?" Goku said. "That's impressive!"

Acia gave her cousin a smug look as she twirled a strand of hair. They were, in fact, three-to-two in her favor, and it had been extremely difficult keeping the upper hand as Trunks started to catch on to her techniques, but she was loathe to admit that. "Hardly. He's only a child."

The ten-year-old slammed his fist into the tree. "I'm a Super Saiyan! And you only won because you fight dirty!"

"Now Trunks…" Goku attempted to mollify him.

"It's true! She pulled my hair, and one time she bit me! _And_ she always uses her tail, which isn't fair because I don't have one!"

"You're the one who wants to fight with the adults Trunks, so don't complain if you can't handle it. And besides," she said, leaning into the boy's face, "you would have a tail if you were a _real_ Saiyan."

For a moment she thought he would punch her in the face. He was angrier than she'd ever seen him, his brows furrowed so deeply and his blue eyes seething rage and hate. So she fully expected a punch, and she would have let him do it too.

It never came. Instead, Trunks seemed to regain control of his emotions, his expression relaxing just an inch before he said, "Let's fight, right now. I'll show you who's a real Saiyan."

Acia stood up.

"That outfit is brand new. You're going to ruin it," Eighteen pointed out.

"That's okay," Acia said, cracking her knuckles, eyes never leaving Trunks' gaze. "Saiyans don't back down from a fight."


	8. Chapter 8

The Z-fighters, as well as Bulma, Chi Chi and a blue-haired Launch watched as Acia and Trunks hit and kicked at each other in midair with violent force and breakneck speed. A few days of fighting Trunks had taught Acia not to treat him like a child, despite what she'd said to Goku. A few days of fighting Acia had taught Trunks to keep his eyes peeled and his mind focused – she was tricky and unpredictable. This fight was quickly becoming their best and most vigorous yet.

"She's a good fighter," Eighteen commented from down on the ground.

"Impressive technique," Tien agreed.

"Yeah," said Gohan. "And so graceful too."

After several minutes of being on the defensive, Acia was able to grab the upper hand, knocking her cousin hard in the temple with her elbow. Trunks recovered quickly and rose higher, his back to the sun, as he attempted to regain his advantage.

"SOLAR FLARE!" he yelled as he watched her prepare a new offensive.

But Acia wasn't there.

No, she was behind him, fists raised. "Nice try," she whispered as she slammed her fists into his back, sending him plummeting towards the earth. She'd seen versions of that attack before, and had learned long ago not to fight with the sun in her eyes.

Knowing that Trunks could easily recover before he even hit the ground, Acia followed him quickly, kicking him hard in his side and sending him flying across the lawn and crashing into the grass.

She landed several feet from him, fists clenched, breathing hard, fighting the instinct to finish him where he lay. Instead she focused on his energy, waiting for a sign that he was coming at her again.

Sure enough, Trunks was barely down for a minute. Charging into his Super Saiyan form, the ten-year-old rushed at her at full speed. Quickly, Acia shot a _ki_ blast at him, forcing him to swerve and giving her just enough time to dodge him and prepare her defense.

Acia had never been so angry at someone she wasn't actively trying to kill as she was at this boy, this _child,_ who was, once again, pushing her back as she dodged and blocked a flurry of punches and kicks. She had already been putting the bulk of her energy into the fight and was sweating and panting. In his Super Saiyan form she wouldn't be able to hold him off much longer, which meant that unless she did something quickly she was going to be defeated by a little boy in front of not just her dick of an uncle but a whole group of onlookers as well.

 _Fine,_ she thought, teeth gritting with the force of concentration as she prepared to lay down her final card. _That's just fine, kid. You're not the only one with a special trick._

Penetrating his mind was easy. Not only was he right next to her (physical proximity always made this easier), but the boy had absolutely no defenses.

 _Slow down,_ she commanded, and sure enough, the force of her willpower easily overrode his own. Trunks found his movements slowing. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't want to speed up either. This gave his cousin the perfect opportunity to punch him in the face, knocking him into the ground. Quickly, she pinned him there with the weight of her own body, hands holding his arms down, shins pressed into his legs. After all, she would have to make it look like he had a reason to give up.

 _Go back to your regular form._ Trunks' hair flattened, the golden aura around him dissipating.

Acia was covered in sweat and she could barely breathe. Blocking Trunks' attacks while taking control of him had taken every ounce of concentration and energy she had, and her body felt like it was about to give out. She'd had enough of this. It was time to end it once and for all.

Acia let go of his body and stood up, panting. She held out a hand to her cousin.

 _Take it._

Obediently, Trunks took her hand and she pulled him up. With both hands on his shoulders, she walked him over to group watching the fight. Everyone looked at them expectantly.

She turned him around and, bending forward, gazed right into his slightly dazed eyes. "We're done now." The tone of her voice was not the only thing that made it an order.

 _Say, 'yes Acia, we're done.'_

"Yes Acia, we're done."

"Good." Straightening out, she began to brush the dirt off her clothes.

"Wow, that was a hell of a fight!" Yamcha exclaimed.

"Yeah, it was really impressive," Gohan said.

"I was starting to think there wasn't anyone around who could give Trunks a run for his money except Goten," Krillin said.

"Don't be sad Trunks," Goku said, putting a comforting hand on the boy's shoulders. "You fought really well, you should be proud of yourself." Trunks looked up at him, confused. Slightly apart from the group, Vegeta watched the interaction, an inexplicable look on his face.

It would be hard to describe how Trunks felt either while his mind was being manipulated by Acia or afterwards. He was not anywhere near familiar enough with the different forms of telepathy to sense her invasion of his mind or the way she took control of his will. All he knew was that he'd been fighting as hard as he could, determined to teach his cousin a lesson, and then suddenly he didn't want to fight so hard anymore. A part of him knew it didn't make sense, but he couldn't seem to find the desire or ability to strengthen his attacks. It was as if the commands were coming not just from within him but from outside of him as well. It was an eerie sensation, one that left him feeling vaguely confused and yet somehow unsure of what there was to be confused about. He knew he'd lost, he knew why he'd lost and how, and yet he couldn't explain it, to himself or anyone else.

"I'm going to go clean up," Acia said, excusing herself from the group now animatedly discussing the fight. As she walked away, a deep voice came from behind her. "That's an interesting technique you have there." Acia turned to find herself face to face with…

 _Oh shit,_ she thought. _The Namekian._ She'd completely forgotten about him, even though she'd been introduced to him at the beginning of the party. She'd even given him a small bow; she respected Namekians. Now he was staring at her, arms crossed and an expression on his face that…wasn't menacing, but certainly wasn't friendly. And he was _looking_ for her.

Damn it.

Reluctantly, she allowed him in.

 _"What you did was extremely dangerous,"_ Piccolo said to her telepathically.

 _"He'll be fine,"_ Acia responded.

 _"You must never do that again, do you understand?"_

Acia glared. _"You don't tell me what to do."_ With that, she unceremoniously shut her mind against him, turned on her heels, and walked into the house.

Piccolo watched her walk away, his expression unreadable. He had no idea where a girl like her could learn such a dangerous technique, but he knew he had to stop her from doing it again. How he wasn't sure, but he would find a way.

"You felt that too?" Chaiotzu was floating near his shoulder, fear on his face.

"Yes."

Chaiotzu gulped. "This is really bad."

Piccolo turned to him. "Come see me at the Lookout tomorrow." Chiaotzu nodded, and Piccolo walked away.

 **A/N: A short upload today, but I think it moves the story along quite a bit! Thanks to all of you who have been following along with me. I'm really excited about this story and your reviews so far have been great - please keep them coming!**


	9. Chapter 9

"I just don't understand," Dende said as he sat, half slumped, on the bright white tiles of the Lookout. Piccolo had just finished filling him and Mr. Popo in on the events of yesterday's spar between Acia and Trunks, and now he and Chaiotzu were levitating near him while Mr. Popo stood nearby, hands behind his back, expression as stoic as ever. "Where would a girl like her learn such a dangerous technique? I mean, didn't you say she was a mercenary? They're not exactly known for this kind of thing."

"Where and how she learned to do it is not our concern," Piccolo said. "The important thing is making sure she never does it again, at least while she's here."

"You're right," Dende said. "Who knows how many times she's done it to Trunks already? He's only a child, he won't last long."

"I do not believe that Trunks is in danger," Mr. Popo said suddenly. The other three turned to him; he was now standing near the edge of the Lookout. "He is not normally a meek or submissive child. Any side effects will be noticed quite quickly." Mr. Popo paused, looking down at the world below. "No, I am more concerned about the girl. She is quite young, and is unaware of the danger she is in."

"I suppose that's possible," Dende said. "Whoever taught her to do that is probably a pretty unscrupulous character, I doubt he would have bothered to go over the fine print." He looked up at his fellow Namekian. "So what's our plan here?"

Suddenly, Piccolo noticed that everyone, including Mr. Popo, was looking at him expectantly. He groaned inwardly. Why was he the one always having to come up with ideas? "I don't know," he said, trying to convey his frustration with an expressive glare. "If I had a plan, I'd have told it to you already."

There was a pause as everyone considered the options.

"We could go to Vegeta," Chiaotzu suggested. "He'd scare her straight."

Piccolo shook his head. "She's not so easily intimidated. Besides, Vegeta has no way of knowing if she's doing it or not. The only people who _would_ know are the four of us, and we can't watch her every second of the day."

"So we'd have to convince her to stop doing it. Of her own free will," Dende said. The irony was not lost on him. "We have to talk her into it."

Piccolo considered this. "That seems to be our only option right now." Chiaotzu was looking extremely skeptical.

"Bring her to the Lookout," Mr. Popo said. "Dende will speak with her." Dende straightened himself up.

"Dende?" Piccolo said.

"I can do it," the young Guardian said confidently. "If there's a way to reason with her, I'll find it."

"Alright," Piccolo said. "We'll all meet back here, same time tomorrow. I'll bring the girl."

"Wait, all of us?!" Chiaotzu said, panicking. "Me too?"

"Yes, you too."

"But what do you need me for?!"

"It could help our cause for her to know that more than one person knows her little secret." Dende nodded at this. "Leverage," he said.

"But…"

"Chiaotzu I am not having this discussion with you!" Piccolo's patience had finally broken. "You will be here tomorrow if I have to drag you over myself!"

Chiaotzu huffed. "Oh alright fine! I'll be here, but I won't like it! If anything happens to me, you're the one who's going to have to explain it to Tien! And I hope he kicks your butt!"

* * *

Mind control is, in fact, a very dangerous technique, both for the one who practices it and for the one on whom it is practiced. For the victim, the most obvious downside is that he or she is forced to do (or not do) things against their will. However, the effects do not stop there. Repeated exposure to mind control can, over time, erode the victim's natural willpower and self-control, resulting in sudden outbursts of erratic and often dangerous behavior, contrasted with an extreme submissiveness. As their willpower begins to crack, victims will often experience memory loss that stretches over periods of times ranging from hours to days. Eventually the strain becomes so great that victims are driven to insanity, and many commit suicide or are killed as a result of their destructive actions. How long these effects take to manifest themselves varies depending on the person's resistance to mind control. Those with awareness and resistance to the technique have been known to last for months, sometimes years, under repeated mind control attempts before showing symptoms of mental breakdown. But for those with no awareness or resistance in place, especially children and less intelligent creatures, a few times under the effects of the technique can be enough. Rehabilitation, when it is possible, is often long and brutal.

The effects on the practitioner are, in some ways, even worse. Mind control is like a drug – the more you do it, the more you want to do it until it transforms from a desire to a desperate need that must be fulfilled. The mind is no longer content with control over its own self, pushing instead for control over others, the stronger the better. If left unsatisfied, the practitioner experiences severe anxiety and insomnia – some people have been known to collapse and even die from sheer sleep deprivation. When they _do_ satisfy their need to control, their tendencies become more and more violent and they are more likely to cause their victims to injure or even kill themselves and others. Such effects take longer to manifest themselves on mind control practitioners, sometimes years, but once they begin to take hold they are virtually irreversible. Unsurprisingly, therefore, the very possibility of mind control is a well-guarded secret kept among only those species capable of the highest and strongest forms of telepathic communication.

Unfortunately, Acia knew none of this. The Saiyan teen had found mind control the way normal people find loose change in their pockets. It was an experience she would never forget.

Telepathy was a technique she'd learned as a child from Quaorin, a fellow mercenary who hailed from Planet Quelda – he had light blue skin covered in swirling blue and purple tattoos, the mark of a warrior among his people, a pair of broad feathery wings, and feet that he could transform into claws.

On this particular day Quaorin as not around, nor, in fact, was anyone. This was four years ago, back in the good old days when her parents were actually willing to leave her alone for more than two minutes. The Crusher Corps had landed on a trading outpost after completing a particularly brutal mission, and while the rest of the troupe had gone out to purchase supplies and get a few drinks, 13-year-old Acia had elected to stay on the ship and rest. Once everyone was gone, however, she'd found that she couldn't get to sleep, so she'd decided to go out and see if she could catch up with the group. Instead she was distracted by a squirrel-like creature that she followed into a wooded area a few miles away from the ship.

She'd sat on a tree stump, watching a group of squirrels wrestle each other, and found herself wondering, in that way that children of all races do, what squirrels think about. Unlike most children, however, Acia was able to find out.

Finding a squirrel's mind was harder than she'd thought it would be, since their minds were all jumbled together in a series of, to her, unintelligible thoughts. But once she'd managed to latch on to one, it was only a matter of seeing how far she could take it. And Acia took it all the way. Once inside, penetrating the deepest parts of the squirrel's mind was almost too easy, and the teen found that once she'd gotten that far, her thoughts were transmitted not simply as thoughts but as _orders,_ seemingly from the squirrel's own mind but actually from hers.

Acia had a lot of fun with the squirrels that day.

Somehow, Acia instinctively knew that there was something…strange about what she'd been able to do. A little uncomfortable with the new technique, she sought some information about it.

If she'd gone to Bain, the Corps' resident Namekian, she could have saved herself and a lot of Earth dwellers a lot of grief. But Bain was a relatively new addition to the group and he intimidated her, with his constant bored expression and his persistent detachment from the non-fighting activities of the group. So she'd gone to Quaorin instead, tentatively asking if it was possible to use telepathy to access the part of the mind that controlled willpower.

"No," Quaorin had said. "You see, the brain has layers, like an onion."

Anatomy had never been his strong suit.

"The first layer is where the thoughts are that you can access with telepathy. The second layer is the thoughts you can't access. Then the third layer is where the will is, where the mind controls what goes in which layer." Quaorin paused to consider the metaphor, then nodded with satisfaction. "Yes, exactly. So obviously you can't get past the first layer."

"Why not?"

"Because the mind just doesn't let you. It would take too much energy to do that, and even if you could manage it, there wouldn't been anything you could once you got in there."

Acia gave him a skeptical look. "Are you sure about this?"

"Of course I'm sure!" Quaorin said with his usual confidence. "We Queldans are experts in telepathy. If such a thing were possible, we'd definitely know about it."

As it happens, neither of those statements are true.

So Acia continued to indulge in her newfound skill, mostly with animals she encountered on different planets. Later she tried it on children, making them dance and do tricks as she laughed at the chaos she created. It seemed harmless enough; the kids looked confused but happy as they danced like puppets on a string, and since she never saw any of them again, Acia had no way of knowing what kind of side effects resulted from her game. But playtime ended quickly.

About a year after she'd had her fateful encounter with the squirrels, Acia found herself on a planet fighting for her life. The Crusher Corps had been in the middle of decimating the rebel army they'd been hired to put down when they'd been ambushed by another mercenary group, and suddenly the battlefield was consumed by chaos. Caught unawares, Acia found herself fighting one-on-one against one of the terrifying creatures apparently hired by the rebels. The thing was at least twice her size and resembled nothing short of an engorged insect, with four arms, muscular legs, pincers for a mouth and a long tail that came to a sharp, threatening, dagger-like point.

Despite its size, the creature moved with unbelievable speed and before she knew what was happening Acia found herself knocked to the ground, her body bruised and bloodied from the fight. The thing pounced on her, pinning her to the ground as she struggled against him. With a rapid movement, the creature whipped its tail around, aiming its sharp point directly at her face. Desperately, Acia wrapped her own tail around it, squeezing hard and trying to force it back. It was inches from her face now, and Acia's whole body was possessed by a kind of fear she had never felt before. Tears rolled down the side of her face. This thing was so much stronger than her, her parents and troupe were nowhere near her, completely engrossed in their own life-or-death battles, and she knew then that she was going to die.

She was fourteen years old.

But no, she was not going down like this. Desperate to save herself, driven by fear and rage, Acia used the last of her energy to penetrate the creature's mind.

It hadn't seen it coming, so she got in easily enough, but she could tell from the look in its eyes that it could feel her in there and knew exactly what she was trying to do. The two wills battled together with a force and intensity that rivaled anything Acia had ever experienced physically, the creature desperate to prevent her from taking over its willpower. But Acia had the element of surprise on her side and, finally, she forced the creature to turn its weaponized tail in on itself.

As its tail began to curve inwards, away from Acia's face and towards its own chest, the creature had struggled harder against her, fighting her will in its mind with all the energy it could muster, loosening its grip on Acia's arms and legs. But the Saiyan refused to relinquish the control she'd fought so hard for, and she continued to work her mind against its own, her tail never loosening its hold on the weapon she aimed at the thing.

The two lay in the dust on that gods-forsaken planet for what must've been over an hour, locked in a desperate struggle for survival. Acia's heart pounded in unrelenting terror as she fought off the creature's attempts to regain control of its own mind, and the pointed tail moved, inch by agonizing inch, towards her attacker, until finally, finally, the tip pierced its bare chest. She pushed harder, with her tail, with her mind, until the creature's own tail had gone in and through it, its dark blue blood gushing out over her still immobilized form. Dead finally, the creature's body slumped over hers as she crawled out from under it, covered in its warm, sticky blood, the stench overwhelming her, the taste of it in her mouth. Dragging herself away from the body on all fours, she'd vomited, violently and uncontrollably, before passing out.

When she'd come to in a healing tank on her father's ship, she did not know what time it was or even what day. What she did know was that the technique she'd acquired by sheer luck was not a parlor trick to be wasted on animals and children.

No. It was a weapon.


	10. Chapter 10

Vegeta was hard at work at training in the Gravity Room when he felt a familiar and entirely unwarranted presence rapidly approaching his home.

"What is it _now_?" he grumbled to himself as he grabbed a towel and prepared to meet his unannounced guest.

Sure enough, a few minutes later Piccolo landed on Capsule Corps' front lawn, right in front of the waiting Prince.

"Vegeta," he acknowledged.

"Piccolo," the other returned. Neither would ever admit it, but there was a begrudging respect and even admiration between them, particularly since the events of Majin Buu, that made them almost nice to each other.

Almost.

"Well, what is it?" Vegeta demanded.

"I'm here to see your niece," Piccolo said casually, as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

"What?!" This was the last thing Vegeta was expecting. "Why?"

Piccolo did not have many occasions to lie, but he knew that this particular interaction would require a bending of the truth and so he'd come prepared with what he hoped was a plausible explanation for his interest in the girl.

"I'd like to train her."

For a few seconds, Vegeta just stared at the Namekian. Then, with a couple purposeful strides, he was right in his face. "You're serious aren't you?" he said, looking him in the eye. "What do you want to train her for?"

Piccolo shrugged. "I was impressed by her fight with Trunks. She's no Super Saiyan, but she has a lot of potential. It could be useful…"

"Useful for what exactly?" Vegeta spat. "Do you know what she is? Do you know what she's been doing her whole life? What she _will_ do, once her parents come for her?"

"It can't be any worse than what you were doing not that long ago." Before Vegeta could respond, Piccolo leaned in closer. "What I do know is that you have a teenaged Saiyan whose whole life has revolved around fighting, living in your house with your wife and children with no outlet for her natural aggression. Since I doubt that you have any interest in bonding with the girl, I suggest you let her come with me so she can get it out of her system somewhere far away from here."

Vegeta paused. As much as he hated to admit it, Piccolo had hit the nail on the head. Teenaged Saiyans were particularly aggressive and violent and their control over those instincts was untrustworthy at best. And although in theory Trunks should be able to take her on easily enough, there was something about her he didn't trust. She was slippery. Of course, if she ever harmed his family he would kill her without a second thought, but he'd rather not have to go through all that. Piccolo's offer, all things considered, was rather appealing.

Wordlessly, Vegeta turned, beckoning to the Namekian to follow him into the house. The two followed the trail of the girl's _ki_ into the kitchen, where she was getting something to drink.

Acia turned to the door as her uncle and Piccolo entered, an inquiring look on her face. "You remember Piccolo," Vegeta said, gesturing his head towards the Namekian standing at the door with his arms crossed, an unreadable expression on his face. "He's here to take you training."

Acia's eyebrows shot up in surprise, her every muscle tensing as suspicion and fear swept over her.

 _"Why are you here?"_ she asked him in the privacy of his mind.

 _"You know why I'm here. I suggest you come quietly,"_ Piccolo responded.

 _"I'm not scared of you,"_ she said, despite the tightness she felt in her chest.

"Well?!" Vegeta yelled impatiently. "I don't have time to watch you two stare at each other all day! Are you going with him or not?"

Acia gave her uncle a sideways glance before placing her glass on the table and stomping towards the door, Piccolo moving aside to allow her to exit.

The two flew in silence until they reached the Lookout, Acia's every sense on guard for the ambush she knew was coming.

"What is this place?" she demanded as she landed on the white tiles of the Lookout, eyes darting warily around and fists clenched. They were not alone – the human she recognized as Chiaotzu was here, as well as another Namekian and a…person she didn't recognize at all, standing in front of a palace a few feet away from where she and Piccolo had landed.

"Welcome to the Lookout," Piccolo said. "This is the residence of the Guardian of this planet, and it is where I stay as well. You are one of a very small group of people who has ever been here."

"Why am I here?"

Piccolo ignored the question. "Come, let me introduce you to the Guardian."

But instead of moving forward, Acia had taken a step back. Piccolo sighed wearily. "No one is going to hurt you here." The assurance did nothing – the girl's glare refused to abate and her body seemed to tense even more. She was radiating suspicion and fear.

Seeing that Piccolo was having no luck with the girl, Dende moved forward to greet her. Mustering his friendliest smile, the Guardian approached her.

"Hello. My name is Dende. I am the Guardian of Earth. It's very nice to meet you."

Acia looked at him skeptically. "You're Namekian."

"Yes."

"How are you here?" She turned to Piccolo. "Why are there so many of you on this planet?"

Dende smiled. "Well, it's just the two of us and it's kind of a long story. I'd be happy to tell you all about it, but first there's something else we need to talk about." He glanced up at the taller Namekian. "I think you know what that is."

Acia stepped back again – Mr. Popo and Chiaotzu (who looked utterly miserable) had joined the group standing near the edge of the Lookout. "Look, I don't understand what all this fuss is about. He's _fine_! He doesn't even know what happened."

"May I ask who taught you this…technique?"

"No one."

There was a collective gasp from the group as they exchanged shocked looks.

"What do you mean, no one?" Piccolo demanded.

"No one!"

"Then how did you learn to do it?" he asked, struggling to keep control of his tone.

"I just did, okay?" Acia was starting to panic. Something was really, really wrong here – the group had taken a step away from _her_ now.

"What?!" she yelled as the group stared at her, then at each other, then at her again.

Piccolo sighed, placing a hand on her shoulder. She practically jumped away from him. "We _really_ need to talk. Trust me."

* * *

Several hours later, Piccolo and Acia were flying back to Capsule Corp. He looked at her, her face pensive and thoughtful as she flew towards her destination.

He'd been suspicious of her at first, but ultimately Piccolo had come to believe her when she said she'd never been taught the technique. After all, it was her erratic and sloppy implementation of it that had alerted him and Chiaotzu to its use in the first place, and he wouldn't be surprised if even Goku and Gohan had felt something strange, even if they didn't know what it was.

Piccolo felt a pang of pity for her. Mr Popo had been right all along – she was a young girl and she'd gotten herself into a lot of danger without even realizing it. A scary young girl, he conceded, recalling the events that had just transpired, but a young girl nonetheless.

Acia had listened, quietly but impatiently, as Dende and Piccolo had in turns explained to her the dangers of mind control, both to herself and to Trunks or her other victims.

"How do I know any of this is true?" she'd asked when they'd finished.

"Why would we lie about something like this?" Dende asked.

"Maybe the part about the victim is true," she said. "The part about Trunks. That's why you want me to stop, because you're worried about him. But it's not hurting me."

"This technique affects you too," Piccolo said evenly. "And I think you know that."

"All I know is that I've done it plenty of times and nothing bad has ever happened to _me_." She was trembling slightly – her body had not relaxed an inch since she'd arrived. "But let's say you're right about all of it; what exactly do you expect me to do now?"

Dende gave her a confused look. "Well, stop of course. Promise you won't do it again."

Acia snorted. "Absolutely not."

"But Acia…"

"NO!" She was on her feet, _ki_ spiking.

"I don't understand why…"

"You don't understand anything!"

"So help me understand," Dende said, his voice soft and gentle as he reached a hand out to the girl. "Sit down and explain it to me."

Acia didn't sit or take his hand, but she seemed to relax just a little. "I…need it."

"Why?"

"I just do, okay! I don't owe any of you any explanations for what I do or how I fight…"

"So you need it to fight? Is that what you mean?"

Acia paused. "There are…times when I need…" She struggled to find the words to explain. How could she, anyway? How could she admit that she was the weak link in the most feared band of mercenaries, that before she'd found this someone was always having to come to her rescue, that her own father told her she was weak, that her mother thought she was 'more useful' fixing the ship or collecting data.

"That technique has saved my life before. I won't hesitate to use it again. If someone's trying kill me…"

"Trunks wasn't going to kill you," Piccolo pointed out.

Acia rolled her eyes derisively. "I am so _sick_ of this pointless conversation!"

"This proves our point though," Dende tried to reason. "It's becoming easier and easier for you to go for this technique even when you don't need it. Trunks wasn't even going to really hurt you and you still used it on him, and he's just a child…"

"Oh please!" Acia spat. "He's hardly a child! Have you seen his transformation?"

Piccolo stood in front of her, arms crossed and brows furrowed. "I won't let you hurt him," he said, voice low and menacing.

"Oh really?" she said, face stone cold despite her quavering heart.

"Piccolo…"

"Really. I will do whatever I have to to make sure you don't do that to him again."

"Well you can certainly try," she said, raising her palm and forming a ball of _ki,_ "and you'll probably succeed. But not before I bring this place to the ground."

Dende gulped.

"Wait!" Piccolo turned to face a very agitated Chiaotzu. Acia didn't budge an inch. "If…if this is just about fighting techniques, then you don't need that! There are other things, things that will give you the same kind of control."

There was a pause. Finally, still not moving, Acia said, "Like?"

Chiaotzu gulped. "Telekinesis." When she didn't respond and didn't move, Chiaotzu ventured, "Do you know what that is?"

"Of course I know what that is!" The ball of _ki_ dissipated and she lowered her hand. Crossing her arms, she turned glaring to Chiaotzu. "And I know it's hard."

"Piccolo knows!" he squealed, pointing at the Namekian with a shaking hand. "He could teach you!"

"An excellent suggestion," Mr. Popo said, finally speaking up.

Acia turned to Piccolo, who was glaring at the small human. He turned to meet her gaze. "I'm willing to teach you, but you must vow to never use mind control again."

"I'll vow not to use it on Trunks," she said. "But nothing more until I see where this telekinesis thing goes."

"You won't use it on anyone on this planet. There's no danger to your life here."

Several minutes passed in silence as Acia considered this under the worried gazes of Dende and Chaiotzu and the stoic gaze of Mr. Popo. Finally, she extended a hand. "Deal."


	11. Chapter 11

Acia returned to Capsule Corp. feeling dazed. The Lookout, Dende, Mr. Popo, all that stuff they'd said about mind control – it was a lot to happen in just a few hours.

Particularly since Acia knew in her gut it was true. She'd denied it for reasons she herself couldn't explain, but with the promise she'd made there was no point in lying to herself anymore. Everything Dende and Piccolo had said was true and she knew it.

She knew it from the start, from the very first time she'd done it and gone to Quaorin about it, perhaps hoping, deep inside, that he would forbid her from doing it again. She knew it when she used it on a child for the first time, standing in the marketplace of some planet she could hardly remember now, waiting bored for her mother to finish her business when she'd caught sight of a small child out of the corner of her eye and had that urge, that need, to take over its mind. She knew it as she watched the little thing dance around on her command, wondering why she was doing this but unable to stop herself. And she knew it afterwards, when she let the child go and felt that rush she normally felt after a battle, what her father called 'the thrill of the kill.'

There was an anger building inside her as she made her way to her room, anger at those meddling Namekians, at Vegeta, at Trunks, at this whole stupid planet, at her parents for leaving her here…

"What's wrong with you?" Acia started. Vegeta was standing in front of her, arms crossed and looking at his niece with…was that _concern_ on his face?

Before she could respond, Bulla came running up from behind her father. "Acia! Where were you all day?" the little girl demanded. "You're supposed to train me, remember! I've been waiting forever! Come on!" she said, grabbing the teen's hand.

Acia looked at her uncle. "I want to go to my room."

"You have to train me!" Bulla whined.

Vegeta put a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Not now Bulla." The girl began to protest again, but Acia was already walking away.

Vegeta frowned as he watched her retreating form. _Damn Namekian,_ he thought. He was supposed to make things better for the girl, but it seemed he'd only manage to make things worse.

Acia curled up on her bed, eyes shut tight, fighting the heat in her nose and throat and the tightness in her chest.

 _Did Bain know?_

The thought came from nowhere, and Acia's eyes flew open. _No, no he couldn't possibly. He would have said something._

 _But maybe…_

He could have had suspicions, she thought. There'd been an incident, not long after the squirrels, when they were staying on Quelda in an actual building instead of the ship. She'd been playing with a bird, making it fly in circles over her head as she lay on her bed. Bain had burst into the room suddenly, and in her shock she let go of the bird, which fell onto the bed, dazed.

"What are you doing?" he'd demanded.

"N-nothing."

He glared at her. "Come with me."

She'd followed him into his own room. "What is it?"

"You shouldn't be wasting time like that. I'm going to teach you something useful," he said as he sat cross-legged on the floor. "Have you ever done any meditation?"

"No."

The Namekian snorted derisively. "I didn't think so. Sit down.

"Your fighting skills are adequate given your age, but much of your potential remains untapped. This is because your mind and body are not in tune with one another. Meditation can help you achieve synchronicity between mind and body, thus increasing your strength and sharpening your skills. I will teach you to do this."

After that, Bain had dragged Acia off to meditate every time he found her with nothing to do. She'd thought it was just an idiosyncrasy of the mysterious new recruit, some strange Namekian obsession, but now…

 _Maybe he knew, or suspected, and was trying to keep me occupied so I wouldn't try it again._

Damn him! Why hadn't he just talked to her like a normal person? If she ever saw him again he was going to have some serious explaining to do.

No, not if, she thought. _When._ When she saw him again, and she would, soon, Bain and her parents and everyone else, because she would be home, on her ship, in her bed, with her family, far away from here.

* * *

Acia woke up a few hours later, in the same bed, the same house, the same planet. The sun had been setting when she returned to Capsule Corp. and now it was completely dark. Her stomach was rumbling as she stretched her legs – she hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast.

The Saiyan teen lowered her _ki_ and made her way quietly to the kitchen. The last thing she wanted was one of the Briefs, or worse, her uncle, asking about her day. When she arrived, there was a plate filled with food and covered in plastic wrap, with a little label marked _Acia._ She gratefully grabbed it and was about to make her way back to her room again when she noticed that although the television in the family room was playing cartoons, the giggling that usually accompanied it was absent.

Against her better judgement, Acia quietly crept into the family room to see what was going on. In the dim light, she found Trunks and Bulla asleep on the couch – Trunks splayed out, arms dangling from the couch, while Bulla was curled up neatly against the armrest. The teen found herself pulled towards the sleeping form of Trunks. She stared down at him, his eyes closed and his breathing steady and deep. He seemed so innocent, so helpless and vulnerable.

 _He's just a child…_

She felt a pang of something, some unfamiliar emotion – pity maybe? It was similar, but it made her feel bad…

Guilt, she realized with a jolt. She felt guilty.

Acia swallowed. _It was just one time,_ she thought. _He's not hurt, he's fine. Even the Guardian said it would take more than that to hurt him._

 _I'll be nice to him from now on…_

Suddenly she became aware of someone else's presence. Turning, she found her uncle leaning over his daughter's sleeping form, picking her up in one hand. Meeting her gaze he said, "You should be in bed," before moving past her to his son.

Acia clutched her plate and fled.

* * *

Goku had, in fact, felt something during Acia's fight with Trunks. He wasn't sure what it was exactly, but it was strange and afterwards Trunks had seemed to just give up, which wasn't like the little half-Saiyan at all. And now, as he meditated at the river near his house, Piccolo was taking Acia up to the Lookout.

It was probably nothing, he thought. But maybe he should look into it. The girl was his niece, after all.


	12. Chapter 12

"Telekinesis huh? That's interesting! It's definitely a useful technique."

Piccolo and Acia had agreed to keep the details of their training sessions to themselves, but Goku had shown up suddenly using instant transmission and caught them red-handed, so to speak. And so Goku joined their training sessions, and Acia began a new, more stimulating routine. Piccolo would pick her up in the mornings from Capsule Corp., since Vegeta still refused to allow her out by herself, and together they would fly to the Lookout where they would meditate for an hour or so. Piccolo was a lot like Bain, Acia thought, and not just in looks and propensity for meditation – it was that desire to teach, to pass on their knowledge and skill to someone else even if they weren't particularly fond of that person. Then Acia would attempt telekinesis, and later she would spar with Piccolo or Goku, who would show up later in the day. Sometimes Gohan would come along too, although he spent all his time chatting with Dende.

Acia was surprised to find that after a few days she had actually started to think of him as _Goku_ , not Kakarot. The more time she spent with him, the less he reminded her of her father and the more he reminded her of…someone else, someone she preferred not to think about.

He was really starting to get under her skin.

One particular afternoon a few days into her new routine, Acia was going at Goku as hard as she could. Her movements were a blur and she was pouring sweat, her muscles burning with exertion. But she didn't care; she was going to shut him up if it killed her.

"That's right, come on!" Goku yelled encouragingly as he blocked her attacks. "Faster, you can do it!"

They had a little audience: Piccolo of course, but also Dende, , and Chiaotzu, who had been summoned by the older Namekian on pain of pain. Acia had done a little prying and learned that the small human, while one of the weaker fighters in the group, was an expert at telekinesis and often used it to his advantage in battles, and she had asked, then demanded to speak with him. "After all," she'd told Piccolo, "I've been at this for days and it hasn't worked; maybe it's not worth the effort."

Piccolo grumbled. He'd be damned if he knew where the girl got the idea that she somehow had the upper hand here, but he was not interested in dealing with another one of her outbursts.

Acia aimed a kick for Goku's head. Blocking it easily, the older Saiyan took advantage of the momentary lapse in the girl's guard and punched her in her now unprotected stomach.

Acia blinked. The world went black.

* * *

Acia woke up to Goku's concerned face hovering above her own. "Are you alright?"

The teen groaned as she lifted herself into a sitting position. A hand reached out to steady her elbow; she turned to meet the smiling eyes of Dende crouched beside her.

"I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to hit you that hard," Goku was saying. "Are you okay? Can you get up?"

"I'm fine," she said as she pushed herself onto her feet, making a mental note to ask Chiaotzu if it was possible to disembowel someone telekinetically.

Goku wrapped an arm firmly around her shoulders, steadying her still shaky movements, and Acia began unconsciously leaning into him, resting her head on his chest as he led her towards the palace and the waiting group, Dende following close behind. Suddenly she realized what she was doing and recoiled from him, pushing him away with one hand as she looked up into his friendly face, those warm eyes and that gentle smile…

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked softly.

Acia grunted in assent, pushing herself away from him and making straight for Chiaotzu, plopping herself next to him on the floor and bombarding him with questions, determined not to make eye contact with the Saiyan.

She was still asking questions when Mr. Popo announced that lunch was ready, and the group had trooped into the kitchen of the Lookout's palace. Several minutes passed in silence as Acia and Goku stuffed themselves, Chiaotzu nibbled at his rice, Dende looked on, amused, Piccolo looked on, disgusted, and Mr. Popo looked – well, like Mr. Popo.

"You know," Goku said suddenly, "you've been asking us all sorts of questions, but we don't really know all that much about you. You should tell us about yourself."

Acia looked at Goku as though he'd asked her to stand on her head and squawk like a chicken. "I was only asking Chiaotzu."

"Not true. Remember at Bulma's party, I told you all about how I met Krillin and Bulma, and Gohan told you about Namek."

Acia chewed slowly. "What do you want me to tell you?"

"What do want to talk about?" Goku countered, smiling encouragingly.

 _What should I do Finn?_

 _What do you want to do?_

"You remind me of someone."

"Oh yeah? Who?"

Acia swallowed. Had she actually said that out loud?

"Perhaps we should…" Piccolo began, but before he could complete the thought Goku reached out a hand and placed it on the girl's head, his fingers tangling in her thick hair.

A flood of memories swept over her, images she thought she'd locked away and buried deep down where they couldn't hurt her. A man, tall and dark with bright green hair. A tiny version of herself sitting in his lap on the captain's seat, pretending to pilot the spaceship and making whooshing noises while he laughed. Sitting in his lap again in the same chair, but this time she's a little older and he is teaching her how to fly the ship for real. Sparring with her, encouraging her, telling her she was great, _really,_ strong, that with just a little more practice she'd be stronger than him. Defending her when her mother complained that she wasn't improving fast enough. Screaming at her father, cursing him, when she'd ended up in a healing tank after a training session got out of hand. Walking with her through a Queldan trading outpost, showing her all the different spices and foods, and then, when they got back to the ship, demonstrating how to cook with them.

And then him, dead, his body mutilated and dumped in front of their ship, a note left on him that said they were all next. Her father, looking like a part of him had died, gripping her shoulders, promising her that they would avenge him. But it didn't matter, she didn't care because he was gone and nothing they could do would bring him back…

Goku's hand slid from her hair to her face, his calloused thumb gently wiping the tears that were sliding down her cheek. "Oh man," he said softly, "you really loved him huh?"

Acia looked up into his dark eyes, those eyes that were just like her father's and yet somehow more like Finn's gray orbs in the way they seemed to smile at her, and felt a surge of some inexplicable emotion – the desire to scream, to cry, to throw herself into Goku's arms, to throw herself off the Lookout, to slap him, hurt him, scratch his eyes out…

Instead, the young girl slowly but deliberately moved his hands away from her tear-stained face. Turning to Piccolo she said, "I'd like to go home please."

"Yes," he agreed, "I think that's enough training for one day."

"Why don't I take you?" Goku was looking at her with pity and tenderness, and she hated it. But she'd lost the energy to object.

The group watched as Goku and Acia flew away from the Lookout. None of them had seen what Goku saw, but they'd all felt the fear, the anger, and most of all, the overwhelming sadness that had emanated from the Saiyan girl.

"That was…unexpected," Chiaotzu said when they were out of sight.

"Indeed." Mr. Popo was standing once again with his hands behind his back, his expression unreadable. "The girl has suffered and lost, but she is no innocent. Suffering can purify, or it can corrupt. Her fate remains to be decided." With that, he walked back into the palace.

Dende looked up at his fellow Namekian. "She needs a friend, someone to talk to. Perhaps Gohan…"

"Let's not drag Gohan into this. Why can't you be her friend?"

"I am," Dende said, tracing the grains of wood in his staff with his finger. "But she maintains a distance from me, I'm not sure why."

"So let Chiaotzu be her friend."

"Me?!" the little human squeaked. "Look, I agreed to help out with this telekinesis stuff, but that's it! Do you have any idea what this is doing to me? The last time I got this close to a Saiyan I died!"

"You go to Vegeta's house all the time!"

"Not alone!"

"Gohan is closer to her in age and in heritage than either of us," Dende interrupted.

"It's just not a good idea." But even as Piccolo swept away, his cape billowing behind him, he knew that with Goku involved he was unlikely to be able to keep his protégé away from the volatile girl for long.

 _Damn Saiyans,_ he thought to himself.


	13. Chapter 13

Gohan was going over a math assignment for his upper-level calculus course when he sensed his father and brother returning to their mountain home – his dad must have picked up Goten from his play-date with Trunks at Capsule Corp.

Gohan smiled to himself. It had become pretty clear that his little brother had developed something of a crush on Vegeta and Bulma's newest houseguest. Ever since Acia had taken up residence at Capsule Corp., Goten had returned from his playdates with tales about the Saiyan girl:

"Acia says Earth's technology is really backwards. She says that in space…

"Acia says the nicest thing about Earth is the food! She likes fish and eggs and cookies and…

"You know what Acia said today? Acia said that to her, _we're aliens!_ Isn't that weird? I asked her what it's like to be an alien and she was like, 'You tell me,' 'cause to her I'm an alien! I never thought of it like that…

Sure enough, as father and son came into the house, Gohan could hear his little brother talking animatedly about Acia, something about how upset she'd been about something or other.

Gohan wasn't completely sure how he felt about his little brother's crush. Certainly it was harmless enough – the Saiyan teen was nearly twice his brother's age after all. But he was a little concerned about her influence on his brother. His mother was right – Acia was a mercenary and, while he didn't know the details of her time in space, he could certainly imagine what she'd been up to. And there was something about her too, something he couldn't quite read. The way she'd taunted Trunks at the barbeque, the fight that had happened afterwards, it was all…off.

 _She can be kinda mean,_ Gohan thought.

And now Piccolo and his dad were training her, which didn't seem to make sense. There was something about the whole situation, about _her,_ that was really inexplicable.

He should go with his brother one day and spend some time with them, observe the dynamic, observe her _._ Goten was his baby brother after all. Like his father, Gohan was an optimist; he always saw the best in people. But unlike his father he was also realistic, and he could see clearly that despite the similarities in their situations, Acia was not like Vegeta. When Vegeta had arrived on Earth, he had no place to go and no real alternatives. Acia, however, was different – eventually her parents would return for her, and she would go back to her mercenary life. Even if she adapted to life here, all that would be undone as soon as she got back onboard the spaceship that had brought her here.

Yes, he resolved. He would accompany Goten on his next playdate at Capsule Corp. and get to know his relative a little better. And who knows, maybe he'd get something out of it too.

Gohan had always been curious about his lost heritage. Even after his traumatic experience with Raditz, Gohan would find himself wondering, during those lonely nights when he'd been out in the wilderness learning to fend for himself, if that scary man really was his uncle, if maybe he had other relatives, aunts, cousins, grandparents. It took him a while, but eventually he worked up the courage to ask Vegeta what he knew about his family. Unfortunately, Vegeta knew surprisingly little about his former teammate's background and could only tell Gohan that he'd heard that Raditz's father had been a formidable warrior, one of the strongest Saiyans. But when Gohan had attempted to ask about life on Planet Vegeta the prince lost his temper, yelling at the six-year-old to stop wasting his time with pointless questions about a dead planet. And so Gohan had been left to his imagination.

But surely Acia would know about her father's family, and maybe even the history of Planet Vegeta as well. Any information she had would of course be secondhand, but it would be something. And talking to her would give him a handle on who she was.

 _Yeah,_ he thought before returning his focus to his assignment, _that's a great idea._

* * *

Had Piccolo known that Gohan was already resolved to involving himself in what Dende had started referring to as 'the Acia situation,' his next training session with the Saiyan girl might have unfolded a little differently. But he didn't know, so when he picked her up two days after the incident with Goku he had already decided to try a new approach with her.

Acia was acting haughtier than usual, marching with her nose in the air across the Lookout to an area behind the palace where she and Piccolo usually began their meditation without so much as a nod acknowledging the other residents, even Dende, whom she usually addressed with a small, respectful bow.

Piccolo sighed wearily. First Gohan, then Goten and Trunks, and now her. How did he get dragged into these things?

As she sat and closed her eyes, Piccolo cleared he throat. "Before we begin," he said, taking up his usual cross-legged position, "I thought we could talk."

Acia opened her eyes and gave him a curious look. "What about?"

"Perhaps," he said, trying to hide his obvious discomfort, "you could tell me about your life before you came to this planet."

Acia rolled her eyes. "Please," she said. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Excuse me?"

"Don't be ridiculous," she repeated, over-enunciating the syllables of each word and glaring at him. "I know what you're trying to do, and I know that you Namekians don't indulge in such pointless discussions, so let's just get on with our training."

Piccolo raised an eyebrow. "How would you know what Namekians indulge in?"

Acia gave him a smug smirk, raising her chin even higher. "You're not the first Namekian I've known. In fact," she said in a superior tone, "one of our mercenaries is a Namekian."

"That's impossible." The objection came not from his own consciousness but from Nail's, who could not believe that a Namekian would lower himself to joining a band of thugs.

The teen turned away from him and closed her eyes again. "You don't have to believe it, but it's still true."

Piccolo took a deep breath. He didn't want to antagonize the girl, he reminded himself. "Alright then," he said evenly, "tell me about this Namekian."

Acia gave him a condescending look. "I don't have to tell you anything."

Piccolo examined the girl for moment, choosing his words carefully. "I see. Let's begin our training then. There's no need to discuss such things." He closed his eyes and lifted himself gently from the floor. "I wouldn't want you to…relive any unpleasant experiences."

Acia's eyes snapped open, her face burning with shame and embarrassment. What was he trying to say? That she was some fragile, emotional weakling? _That she was afraid of Namekians?_

She turned to him, glaring. "If you must know, his name is Bain." She cocked an eyebrow at him, her face releasing its angry expression. "He looked a lot like you, but without the turban and the…that," she gestured at his cape. "And of course he was a much better fighter than you." This was entirely untrue, but Acia was determined to return the insult.

Piccolo smiled in spite of himself. "How did you meet this Bain?"

"We met him on a planet called Base 469," Acia said, looking up at the sky and watching the large clouds float by, so close in this high place. Base 469 had clouds too, but never ones so big and fluffy as the ones here on Earth. "It used to be a Frieza planet, one that he'd depopulated and was going to sell. But when the PTO broke down, some of his former soldiers went off and started taking over planets for themselves. Base 469 was one of those. We used to go there a lot whenever we were on that side of the galaxy because the soldiers who ruled it had been friends with father in his days with Frieza. They ran it as sort of a rest stop for people like us." Acia looked over at Piccolo; he was looking at her intently. She turned back to the sky. "Anyway, we'd stopped there for fuel and supplies, and Bain was there, traveling by himself. He got into an argument with someone and the fight they had…" Acia sighed – that battle had been something else. "Father was so impressed he offered him a spot in the troupe right there."

"And he agreed?"

Acia scowled. "Of course!" Who would turn down a place with the Crusher Corps?

"Interesting." Nail's consciousness told him that this Bain must have committed some great crime and been exiled from Namek to have been traveling alone and with no particular purpose.

Acia was stretching out her legs now, leaning back on her palms. "Can all Namekians regenerate their limbs, or only the warrior class?"

"All Namekians have this ability." Piccolo had lowered himself to the floor now and turned to face his student.

"Gosh."

"Were you a large group?"

"With Bain we were seven." She paused. "Now we're six."

 _There it is,_ Piccolo thought. Carefully he searched for words that would achieve the effect he wanted, but before he could formulate a sentence Acia had stood up. "Are we going to train today or not?"

"Perhaps you could tell me…"

"No." Her arms were crossed now and she had a look on her face that Piccolo had begun to recognize – one that meant she was not going to budge from her position. He sighed inwardly. It was times like this when she reminded him, ironically enough, of Trunks.

"You know Acia," he said, standing up and approaching her, "I understand what you're trying to do." She was still giving him that same look. "Forgetting is not so easily accomplished. It is better to acknowledge things and accept them. Besides," he bent forward a little so that his gaze met hers more directly, "do you really want to forget?"

"Now enough of this," Piccolo said abruptly, bringing himself to his full height and turning in one smooth movement, his cape billowing out behind him. "We have work to do."

 **A/N: Hello readers! I thought I'd just address something here since this is the first chapter where Gohan plays a large role - are Acia and Gohan endgame? Well I don't want to spoil anything for you, but I will say that Gohan will definitely be an important part of Acia's time on Earth. He is, after all, in my character list for the story!**


	14. Chapter 14

Acia lay on her back, her vision blurring as she tried to focus on the ceiling fan in her room. She'd been lying in this position since she returned from the Lookout, thinking about what Piccolo had said and trying to figure out what she was supposed to understand from it.

Of course she didn't want to forget Finn. She wanted to honor his memory by becoming stronger, as strong as he always said she could be. But…

She didn't like to think about him. Hurt, anger, fear, hate, even excitement and joy, were feelings that could motivate you, push you, make you stronger. But this was a different kind of hurt that did the exact opposite. Even her happy memories with him left her feeling empty and alone.

Acia felt her heart tighten and her breathing become shallower, and hated herself for the reaction she was having. In his life Finn had never made her feel bad. He had lifted her up, made her feel better, stronger, happier, perfect.

" _The universe is a shitty place, Ci," he would say, a sad smile on his face. "You're too good for it."_

Acia smiled at the memory. She'd never doubted that her parents cared for her, but Finn had cared for her in a way that was…un-Saiyan, and it had felt good.

And now just the thought of him was like a dagger in her chest. Her smile disappeared. How would he feel to know that the child he had raised hated the thought of him, hated a man just because he reminded her of him?

She sat up, unsure of what to do with herself but knowing that she had to do something. Perhaps a snack was in order?

Yeah, a snack. Anything to get her out of this room and away from these thoughts.

Acia entered the kitchen to find Bulma and Trunks sitting at the table, apparently working on something or other. There was a small stack of papers and large book next to them, and Bulma was inspecting one of the papers.

"Hi there!" Bulma smiled at her as she came in. Trunks just scrunched his nose at her.

Acia sighed. Her promise to be nicer to him was over a week old now and the two had hardly exchanged words in that time. Really, what was she supposed to do?

"Are you hungry? There's some leftover chicken in the fridge," Bulma said.

Acia nodded and gave her a small smile before heading over to retrieve the food. Bulma turned back to the paper in her hand. "See Trunks," she said as her son leaned over her, "this is what you're doing wrong. You're not applying the formula correctly." She frowned at him. "You're in too much of a hurry and you're not paying attention to what you're doing. Really now!"

Acia peered over Trunks' shoulder as she clutched her plate of chicken, curious in spite of herself. Bulma turned around to her. "It's his math homework."

Homework. Time with Bulla had taught her what that was. "Why does Trunks not attend school like his sister?" Acia asked.

"My little Trunksie is too smart for regular school," she said as she ruffled his hair. "He's a genius, just like his Mommy."

Trunks growled at her, snatching the paper from her hands. She laughed at his discomfort.

"A genius?" Acia raised a skeptical eyebrow. Trunks glared at her.

"Of course!" Bulma threw her hair back. "You know what Capsule Corp. is don't you? It's the greatest, most advanced science and technology company on the planet!"

"I am aware of that," Acia said, "but the technology on your planet is quite backward compared to most other civilizations." She wanted to say that Bulma may be a genius by this planet's standards but not by anyone else's, but thought better of it.

"Well, that may be true," the scientist replied, "but ever since I've met Vegeta I've been doing a pretty good job of closing that gap." She cocked her head at the girl. "I don't supposed you're any good with technology?"

Trunks snorted. "I doubt it."

Acia scowled at him. "For your information I am _extremely_ intelligent. I was responsible for most of the spaceship maintenance and I helped my father with many of his project. He is a _true_ genius. And I've learned about the culture and politics of every major alien race in the galaxy."

A sly smile formed on Bulma's face. "In that case you won't mind helping me out with my projects!"

"What?"

"Yeah! I could always use an extra set of hands around the lab, and you can tell me all about the exciting technology you worked on."

"I have training…"

"God, you sound like Vegeta!" Bulma said as she rolled her eyes. "Life can't all be training you know! Trust me," she smiled, "you'll like this! It'll be more of a challenge than you think."

Acia opened her mouth to object but before she could say anything Bulma had gotten up from her chair. "So that settles it! When you get back from Dende's tomorrow I'll show you the lab and we'll get started," she said as she walked out of the kitchen. "This'll be perfect."

Acia stared at her as she left, mouth still open. What the hell had just happened?

Trunks laughed at the bewildered look on her face. "You shouldn't have told her you know a lot about space tech," he said, waving his pencil at her, "let alone that your dad's a _genius._ Now she'll never let you get away." He began to gather up his papers. "This is exactly how my parents ended up together."

* * *

"Welcome to my little slice of heaven!" Bulma spread her arms expansively as she led her newest charge through her state-of-the-art laboratory.

Acia peered curiously at the machines whirring in every corner of the space. It was impressive, she had to admit, although she was certain that the machines were all simple enough to manage. She followed Bulma into another, smaller room, which the blue-haired scientist said was her office.

Inside were two large desks that had been pushed together in an L-shape. Each one was piled high with papers and folders and all kinds of gadgets, and on one sat what Acia recognized as a computer, what she would normally refer to as a data processing center, except _real_ DPCs where much larger and more powerful.

But what the teenager had gravitated towards was the far wall, which supported a bookshelf stacked high with all kinds of books.

"Do you like to read?" Bulma asked, coming up to her. "You can borrow anything you like."

Acia picked up one called 'How to Deal With People You Can't Stand,' and gave her aunt a questioning look.

"Oh yeah, that!" Bulma laughed. "It's a self-help book; they're supposed to give you insight into your problems and help you fix them. I bought that when Vegeta first moved in here."

There was a beat as Acia considered this. Then, "I would like to borrow this."

"Sure thing! But first things first," Bulma said as the girl turned back to the bookshelf. "I need to see what you're capable of." The scientist strode over to one of her desks and pulled out what looked like a very damaged robot from under it.

This, in fact, was what it was. "This is a droid your uncle Vegeta uses to train. Of course, he beat the crap out of it _as usual_ and expects me to drop everything to fix it up for him," Bulma scowled. Then she pulled out a large box, dropping both on the floor. "That's a toolbox. Let's see how long it takes you to fix it."

Acia sat on the floor next to the objects, examining each carefully. Then, cracking her knuckles and smiling to herself, she went to work.

 _Finally,_ she thought, _something interesting._

* * *

"So they just wiped out all the planets?!" Bulma's eyes were wide with horror.

Acia shrugged, splayed out on the floor. She had long since fixed the droids Bulma had given her and had spent the next hour asking questions of the scientist – how long had she been working in the tech field? What kind of intergalactic technology was she familiar with? What new projects was she working on? She was surprisingly aggressive in her quest for information. Finally Bulma had declared that it was _her_ turn to ask the questions, and as she poked and pried into Acia's life conversation inevitably drifted to Quelda.

Quelda was one of the first places Acia remembered visiting and over the years, particularly after Quaorin had joined the troupe, became the closest thing to a home base the Crusher Corps had. Acia could speak the language fairly fluently and knew quite a bit of the planet's history, and she had just finished telling Bulma how the Queldans had conquered their entire star system, depopulating the other planets and turning them into trading and military outposts. She had been expecting Bulma to be impressed with the Queldans' brute strength, but instead the woman seemed terrified and slightly disgusted.

"Why did they want to take over the whole star system anyway?"

Acia shrugged again. "Why does anyone seek power over another?" she said stoically. "It's basic instinct for the strong the seek to either rule over the weak or destroy them."

"Why?!"

Acia stared at her. What did she mean, _why?_ What kind of question was that? It was just the way of the world, all the worlds. That was how life worked.

"Well," she said, "who rules over this planet? Is it not the strongest of your kind?"

Bulma snorted derisively. "Good God, no. King Furry is far from the strongest Earthling. I suppose," she said, leaning back in her chair, "the strongest _Earthling_ would technically be Krillin, but he would be a _terrible_ ruler."

Acia blinked at her. She wondered if her Babel chip was malfunctioning. She could understand the words Bulma was saying, but they just didn't make any _sense_. "If Krillin is the strongest Earthling," she said slowly, as though Bulma were not quite right in the head, "then he should rule. That is the natural order of things. The strong rule over the weak."

"But he would be _terrible!_ The whole planet would go down the drain!"

Acia rubbed her temples. "I don't understand what you mean."

"He's bad at making decisions," Bulma said, counting on her fingers, "he's not very confident – probably from all the time he spends around Saiyans – he's a _huge_ pushover; I mean, come on! Have you seen him with Eighteen? Or Marron? He _literally_ cannot say no to either of them, and he's not that great with the other kids either. I mean," she said, blushing a little – Krillin was one of her oldest friends, after all, and she was bashing him pretty hard – "don't get me wrong, he's a great guy. Loyal, brave, smart; you really couldn't ask for a better friend. Just, you know, lacking in your basic leadership qualities."

"But," Acia said, shifting uncomfortably, "if he's the strongest…" She was much less sure of herself now. She knew, of course, that it took more than just strength to be an effective leader. You needed intelligence, bravery, determination, assertiveness, and those qualities didn't always correlate with brute strength. But strength was the most important thing. Right? Her father was the leader of their troupe because he was the strongest. The Queldans ruled over their star system because they were the strongest. King Cold had ruled over the galaxy because he was the strongest.

Granted, the Queldan _king_ himself wasn't the strongest of his kind; he was an old man, after all. But he had been the strongest of his _generation,_ and his son would rule after him because he was the strongest of _his_ generation.

…Right?

Acia chewed her lip thoughtfully. She could see the flaws in her logic now, but her brain didn't seem to be able to process them.

"I suppose these Queldans of yours are a lot like the Saiyans," Bulma said, interrupting her thoughts. "You know, warriors, all they care about is fighting and conquering…"

"Not all the Queldans are warriors," Acia said, finally on more firm footing. "Most are not. They actually have more of a merchant-type society. But they have great respect for warriors and they love to travel. Their warriors go all over the galaxy to test their mettle."

"And that's how you met Quaorin?"

Acia nodded. "His ship broke down on a fueling station we were at, and we gave him a ride home. Then afterwards he asked to join us."

"How old were you?"

"Seven."

"Hmm," Bulma cocked her head at the young girl. "Did you like it? That life? Traveling all over the universe, fighting other people's battles?"

Acia looked down at her feet. Her bangs tilted forward, hiding her dark eyes. She was quiet for a long time.

Finally she spoke, still not looking up into Bulma's piercing blue gaze. "I've wondered, sometimes, what it would be like to do…something else. Maybe stay in one place for a long time. Quelda's nice," she tilted her head a little, "the food is good. But it would become dull after a while. And a life with no fighting," she looked up at her questioner, "that's no life for a Saiyan."

"Do you think Vegeta misses it?" Bulma asked quietly. "He never talks about his life with Frieza…"

"No one talks about Frieza."

Bulma raised an eyebrow. "Your dad never spoke about him?"

Acia shook her head. "Neither did the others."

"Others?"

"DeeDee and…Finn. They left with my father. My mother was the one who told me about the history of the Planet Trade Organization and the Cold Empire, what they did to the galaxy, the planets they destroyed."

Bulma considered this for a moment. "Didn't it bother her what you guys were doing? I mean, you're not much different from Frieza."

Acia's fists clenched, temper flaring. How dare she?! " _Of course_ we're not like Frieza! We're _nothing_ like him! We _never_ blew up a planet…"

Bulma was a little surprised at how quickly the girl had done from mellow to enraged, her brows furrowing and her face red, but held her ground nevertheless. "You killed people…"

"We fought _battles!"_

"Vegeta told me you depopulated planets for your clients…."

"We _conquered_ planets for them. What they did with the planets once we were gone was none of our concern."

Bulma gave her a look that was somehow disappointed and self-satisfied at the same time. "Like I said, not that much different from Frieza."

"It's very different!" Acia got up, glaring. "Frieza and his father wanted to rule the universe, they wanted to destroy all the dignity of the peoples they conquered. They wanted people to bow at their feet, and when they wouldn't they killed them. We killed people, yes, _I_ killed people." She drew herself up, haughty and proud, and Bulma could see clearly, in that moment, that she was indeed Vegeta's niece. "But I killed them in battle, an honorable fight. That is the way a warrior lives, and the way they die." She blushed a little. "Maybe the reasons for the battles were not always just or honorable, as you would say, but it is not our place to question them. We fight. It's our _job._ Now," she bent over to pick up the stack of books she had collected from Bulma's extensive library," unless you have more work for me, I would like to go to my room."

"Let me ask you one more question," Bulma said, ignoring the girl's request. "What about the Queldans? Isn't what they did to their star system the same thing Frieza did to the galaxy?"

Acia felt her heart stop. Blood rushed to her cheeks as she tried to form a response. _Of course_ it wasn't the same thing! The Queldans were _nothing_ like Frieza, they were honorable and intelligent…

…Right?

"No…," she said, flustered. "No, it…it was different. There was a war." She fidgeted under the books she was carrying. "It…the other planets refused to acknowledge the Queldans as the stronger party and the natural ruler…"

"Do you really believe all this natural ruler stuff?" Bulma asked, a pained look on her face.

"It's just…it's how the universe works." Acia frowned. "The universe is a cruel, hard place. There is no mercy or respite in it for the weak. And the only reason you don't know that is because this ridiculous planet is so out of the way of civilization you haven't actually had to deal with the universe." With that, she marched out of the lab.


	15. Chapter 15

Bulma rolled her chair back a bit and looked over her shoulder. "What is that?"

"Hmm?" Acia looked up from her work. She was trying to compose blueprints for a regeneration tank – something of an obsession of Bulma's ever since Krillin had told her about the one they'd used on Namek. Vegeta hadn't been able to help her with that, but Acia had done maintenance work on the tanks in her father's ship and had offered to try to reverse engineer one.

"What you're singing, what is it?"

"Yeah, it's distracting." Trunks' tutor had left for the day and he was now doing his homework with them in the office.

"It's _nice,_ " Bulma said, shooting her son a pointed look. "What is it?"

Acia blushed slightly. She hadn't realized she was being so loud. "Um…it's a Saiyan song." She was embarrassed, and angry at herself for being embarrassed; there was nothing to be embarrassed _about_. This was the heritage that her mother had painstakingly passed on to her. "For as long as you live," her mother had said, "you are a testament to the pride and glory of the greatest race the universe has ever known."

"Sing it!" Bulma smiled widely. Trunks stared at her curiously.

Acia's blush deepened, but she held her head high. She was a testament to the pride and glory of the Saiyan race.

"Oh, bright moon," she sang in her native tongue, her voice deep and gentle,

Calling my name

I am your soldier

I am your slave.

Give me your strength

Give me your power

Brighten the night

Shine in this hour

Oh, bright moon

Calling my name

I am your soldier

I am your slave

Burn my skin

Devour me

Bring out the beast

Set me free

"Gosh," Bulma said after a pause. "That sounds beautiful. You have a nice voice."

"Thank you."

Trunks was staring at her oddly. "Um," he said, his face red, "could you teach me? Like, the language."

Acia gave him a small smile. He was a half-breed, but perhaps he could be a testament too. He was royalty, after all.

* * *

"Vegeta?"

The prince was sitting on the edge of the bed he shared with his wife, stretching before sinking into the soft mattress. He cocked his head slightly towards her.

"Do you…worship the moon?"

He turned to face her fully. "What?"

"Do Saiyans worship the moon?" Bulma repeated more confidently.

"What gave you that idea?" he asked, knowing the answer full well.

"Acia was singing a song in the lab today," Bulma said, snuggling into the pillows. "She said it's a moon song, a song Saiyans would sing during ceremonies for the moon. She says the moon is your god."

"The _moon_ is not a god," Vegeta said, joining her under the covers. "Saiyans believed in a god _of_ the moon, who created it and gave it the power to make us transform."

"So do you worship it? Him? The moon god?"

"I believe only in what I can see for myself. And the moon god isn't a he," he said, turning over, "it's a she."

"Wow, female gods? I didn't take your people for the progressive type." Bulma leaned over her husband, tickling his nose.

Vegeta rolled back onto his back to look at her. "Oh yes. Cora was a priestess for the moon god once."

"Really? Huh." She moved back a little, hand resting on his chest.

"What?"

"I mean, geez, even your priestesses are fighters?"

"All Saiyans are fighters," he said, "but no, generally priestesses only train within their natural capacity. Any strength or skill Cora has now she gained 'on the job,' as you say."

Bulma smiled at her husband. He was normally extremely reticent about life on Planet Vegeta, let alone his family. "She was a real rebel huh?"

He scowled. "A rebel without a cause. She was always doing the opposite of what was required of her. If my father had sent her to be trained as a warrior, she would've run away to join the priesthood."

"That doesn't remind you of anyone?" she teased.

He glared at her. "What do you mean?"

Bulma rolled her eyes. "Forget it." She smiled at him. "Acia seems pretty tame though."

"That won't last," he said darkly. "Given her age and her upbringing, it's only a matter of time before the monster inside her bursts through. I'm surprised it hasn't already happened."

"Well," Bulma said slowly, stroking his hair, "her upbringing isn't all that different from yours, and you turned out pretty good."

Vegeta snorted. His disbelieving eyes met his wife's sincere gaze. "You clearly haven't been paying attention woman."

* * *

Acia fell off the bed with a loud thump that jolted her awake.

For a moment she was unsure of where she was. She was covered in…sweat? Sweat, not blood. It was just a dream.

Suddenly the light went on, and Acia groaned quietly as she shielded her eyes.

"Get up."

Squinting, she could see her uncle standing over her bed, his arms crossed.

"What…what is it?"

"You were screaming. I woke you."

Dots began to connect in Acia's mind as her eyes adjusted to the brightness. "Did you push me off the bed?" she asked incredulously.

"I was trying to wake you. You rolled over and fell off."

She stared at him, trying to determine the truth of this statement. The man's poker face was second to none.

"Get up," he repeated, and made his way to the door.

Pulling the blanket she had dragged down with her back onto the bed, she followed him out obediently, rubbing her eyes. What time was it?

He led her downstairs and into the family room, motioning for her to sit on the couch. He went into the kitchen and came back a few minutes later with two mugs. Handing her one, he picked up the remote and began flipping through channels.

Acia took a sip, then grimaced at the warm drink. "What is this?"

"Warm milk and honey. It'll help you sleep."

"I don't like it," she reached over to put it down.

Vegeta glared at his niece. "Drink it."

Her hand stopped halfway to the coffee table. Catching the look on her uncle's face, she slowly brought the mug back up to her lips, sipping at it carefully.

There was silence as Vegeta eventually settled on the weather channel – if this couldn't get him to sleep, he didn't know what would. He had been unable to shake the conversation with Bulma from his head, and instead of the quiet darkness he silently prayed for every night, his mind was filled with images from his childhood, solemn ceremonies in the night and blissful gatherings in the day, carefully arranged meetings with the children of elite warriors, who would someday become his personal guard, his father teaching him the proper formal address for different delegates, all the preparations for the day he would become king, a day that never came.

He looked over at the girl. She was still sipping at her drink, her eyelids starting to droop. He felt as awake as ever.

"You were calling for your father," he said abruptly.

She looked up. "What?"

"In your sleep."

She said nothing.

"Don't do it again," he said roughly. "I don't want the children, _my_ children," he emphasized, "to hear that."

She stared at him. Was he seriously asking her to control her nightmares? The _ass._ Instead, she asked him a question that had been on her mind all afternoon. "Trunks and Bulla know nothing of our heritage. They can't even speak Saiyan. Why didn't you teach them?"

"There's not much point. Our planet and our people are gone. We are the last of a dead race."

"Exactly," she said. "While we live we are a testament to our race."

He blinked at her. A testament to our race? That was…familiar. Who used to say that?

He opened his mouth to say something, something about how strange parenthood was, how unfamiliar, how he was surprised he'd even lasted this long. Instead, he said, "If you're done with your drink, go back to bed."

A few minutes later Acia left. Vegeta stayed, watching the weather channel for another hour before finally giving up on the idea of sleep entirely and heading for the gravity room.

He was mid-blast when it came to him, like a bolt from the sky: his mother, her long, angular face bent into his own, her hands on his shoulders, telling him that he had to be brave, that he could not let Frieza take his dignity or his honor. "As long as you live, you are a testament to the pride and glory of the Saiyan race."

When the droid hit him, he cursed his sister.

* * *

Chiaotzu was becoming increasingly uncomfortable.

"Are you going to finish your rice?"

"Huh?"

Acia pointed to his half-full bowl. "Are you going to finish it?"

"Do…you want it?" Chiaotzu asked tentatively, offering her the bowl. She grabbed it.

Chiaotzu sighed. For the last few days, the Saiyan teen had chosen to engage him in conversation when they broke for lunch. At first she'd simply prodded at him for information – where did he learn telekinesis? How long had he practiced it? Why did he look so different from the other humans she'd seen? Then…

"What is Mr. Popo?"

"Mr. Popo? He serves the Guardian."

"Yes, but _what_ is he? He is clearly not an Earthling like you."

"Oh." Chiaotzu scratched his cap with a small finger. "I don't really know. He's just Mr. Popo. He's been around for thousands of years I think, maybe longer."

Acia seemed to think about this for a few minutes. "Where does he get all this food?"

Chiaotzu shrugged. "No idea. But you know what they say, don't look a gift horse in the mouth."

"… _What?"_

That had led to a long conversation about idioms and expressions, which had led to a conversation about Earth customs (he'd taken the opportunity to suggest that most people would take offence to questions like 'why do you look like that?'), and after that she'd started complaining to him about the trials of life at Capsule Corporation. He had to admit, he sympathized with her. Bulma alone was a lot to handle, but Bulma and Vegeta under one roof? With Trunks? It was the stuff of nightmares.

"He's a very unpleasant person," Acia was saying of her uncle between mouthfuls of rice, "probably because it's been so long since he's killed anything."

That jolted Chiaotzu out of his reverie. He gulped. "How…how long has it been since you…killed something?"

Acia paused. "A year," she said quietly.

Chiaotzu inched away from her.

"What about you?" she asked.

"Huh? Me? I've never killed anybody!" It was a small point of pride with Chiaotzu, considering his training under the Crane Hermit and the things he'd seen since he'd met Goku.

Acia stared at him. "Are you not a warrior?"

"Well, not really." Chiaotzu said. "I used to be a fighter, but I gave it up a while ago to focus on telekinesis and psychic training." After Tien had returned from the fight with the Androids, Chiaotzu had decided to focus on where his own strengths had always been, seeking out masters of psychic techniques and training under them for several years.

"And when you were a fighter, you never killed anything?"

"No! I fought only for self-defense and the defense of the Earth."

Acia blinked at him. It wasn't that she didn't know what self-defense _was,_ it was that she didn't understand how any real fight didn't end with someone dead. "…I don't understand. If you did not kill your enemies, why did they not kill you?"

"Well, sometimes people are willing to concede defeat. And sometimes people change their minds if you give them a chance."

"Ah," she said, smiling in understanding, "so you force your opponent to work for you. But how can you trust that they won't betray you?"

"You don't force them to do anything," Chiaotzu attempted to explain. "They join you willingly, because they see your side of things." He hesitated, trying to find the words to tell her about Piccolo and Vegeta, how they'd found common ground and slowly became allies, and realizing, as he collected his memories and thoughts, just how _convoluted_ his life truly was.

Acia gave him a skeptical look. This seemed like a highly unlikely turn of events. On the other hand…

She smiled at Chiaotzu, who was rubbing his eyes wearily. Over time Acia had found herself becoming more and more comfortable with the small human. Dende was very nice to her, but his status as Guardian of the planet and the fact that he was a Namekian made her self-conscious around him, like she always had to be on her best behavior. Training with Piccolo left her doubting whether the older Namekian had the ability to or interest in forming any kind of relationship with anyone who wasn't a six-foot-tall super-powerful Saiyan half-breed. Chiaotzu, however, was the exact opposite of intimidating, with his inferior power level and childlike appearance. Not to mention that he answered all her questions and never pried into her life, simply nodding along with everything she said. He was…safe.

"Should we go practice now?" he asked her. "You still have to get me to move." Acia had successfully mastered moving objects with telekinesis and was now working on people, with Chiaotzu and Dende as her guinea pigs. Because of their own proficiency with the technique they were able to resist her attempts, giving her a much harder challenge.

Suddenly, without even realizing what exactly she was doing, Acia leaned forward and squeezed Chiaotzu's cheeks between her hands. She rolled back just as quickly, giggling, as the man's eyes widened with shock and horror at the unexpected sign of intimacy. His cheeks burned with embarrassment. "What was that?!"

Acia stood up, still giggling at him. "Stop wasting time, Chiaotzu! I have a technique to master."


	16. Chapter 16

Acia was not happy.

Things had been going well for nearly two months. She was really starting to get the hang of telekinesis, even able to move Dende and Chiaotzu, whom she had befriended against his will, at least a little bit. Training with Piccolo and Goku had taught her a lot, and she could feel herself getting stronger. Working with Bulma was fun too – although their first real conversation had been tense, since then they'd been getting along really well. Bulma had taken it upon herself to introduce the Saiyan teen to the world of 'girl talk,' as she called it, and the social norms that governed life on Earth. She was really popular with the younger children for reasons she could only guess at. Bulla and Marron seemed to love training with her, Goten hugged her every time he came over, and even Trunks had started to warm up to her after she'd let the kids touch her tail. Acia had been adamant that it was not going to happen, but the four curious kids had worn her down with weeks and weeks of constant nagging. Eventually she'd given in, allowing each child a small pet to her furry appendage. Even Vegeta didn't seem to be as insulted by her presence as he once was.

Then Gohan had shown up.

He'd come one day with Goten and Acia, seeing her chance, had cornered him as he came out of the bathroom.

"What?!"

"Kami!" she'd hissed at him. "Who is he? And how did he remove your tail?"

"Oh." He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Kami used to be the Guardian of Earth." Acia's eyes widened. "I don't know how exactly he got rid of my tail, but…"

"Wait," she interrupted, "now you have a different guardian." Gohan nodded. "What happened to Kami? Is he dead?"

"Oh no! It's actually kind of a long story – he fused with Piccolo."

The color completely drained from her face. _"What?"_

"Piccolo and Kami used to be the same person," Gohan explained, "but they'd split into two separate entities. Then about nine years ago they fused back together."

"So Piccolo _is_ Kami?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"And he has all the same powers as Kami?"

"I guess so."

So many emotions surged within her – confusion, anxiety, fear – but finally she settled on the one that was most familiar. Anger.

Her next visit to the Lookout had not gone well.

"I don't care how strong any of you are, if anyone so much as _touches_ my tail I'll kill them where they stand!"

"Acia, please calm down!"

"I didn't even think Namekians were _capable_ of such deception!"

"No one deceived you, you little brat! You never asked any of us about Kami. If you had we would have told you."

"I should have razed this place to the ground the first time I got here! But _better late than never!_ "

"Oh my."

Eventually Piccolo had been forced to restrain her, and she'd screamed bloody murder and some very graphic threats as she fought against his hold. Finally Dende and Chiaotzu had managed to talk her down, making everyone at the Lookout vow that they would never harm her tail. But ever since that incident almost a month ago, Acia had isolated herself. There would be no more reminiscing about Bain or Quelda or Base 469 with anyone, she decided. There would only be training, work and more training until her parents finally came for her.

And so Acia was not happy. She was angry and frustrated and lonely, and Bulma was holding another one of her get-togethers which would only serve to highlight to Acia just how angry, frustrated and lonely she felt. And _where the hell were her parents already?!_

* * *

"Hey Krillin!"

The former fighter looked up to see his best friend's eldest son high in the sky, waving at him. He was followed closely by his brother and Nimbus carrying Goku and Chi Chi.

Krillin gave him a big smile and waved back as the family approached.

"Gohan!" Marron squealed excitedly as she jumped up and down.

As Gohan and Goten landed on Capsule Corp's front yard, Trunks and Bulla came running out to greet their friends.

"Hey guys!" Gohan said as the kids swarmed around him. "Where's Acia?"

Gohan had visited Capsule Corp. a few times in the two months since he'd decided to observe the Saiyan girl, and he could tell that Acia was deliberately avoiding people – she didn't seem to want to talk to anyone older than Trunks. Dende had told him about her outburst over Kami at the Lookout and, although she continued to train with Piccolo, she was barely speaking to any of them.

"This is all my fault. I'm so sorry Dende," Gohan had said to the Guardian as he rubbed his head sheepishly.

Dende smiled at his friend. "No Gohan, you mustn't blame yourself. There was no way you or any of us could have known she would react the way she did." He sighed sadly. "It's just disappointing because I thought she… Oh well." He shook his head.

Gohan took the opportunity. "Why are you guys all so interested in her anyway? Is it because you think she'll change like Piccolo and Vegeta?"

"Everyone has the capacity for good within them Gohan, don't you think so?"

"Of course!" Gohan said hurriedly. "It's not that I don't think she _can_ change. But I mean, eventually her parents will return and she'll go back to her old life. I don't think there's anything any of us can do about that."

Dende had only smiled sadly at that. After a moment he squeezed his friend's hand. "Don't worry yourself about this Gohan. Fate will play its cards soon enough."

But Gohan 'Personal Responsibility' Son was determined to contribute to whatever rehabilitation program the Guardian was trying to implement for the Saiyan girl, and Bulma's latest party would provide him with the opportunity he needed to help.

As they made their way inside, the gang was greeted by Bulma and the always cheerful Mrs. Briefs, followed closely by Acia in a short, loose-fitting green dress.

"Acia!" Marron cried, running towards the girl and wrapping her arms around her, burying her face in her stomach. To Gohan's surprise, Acia put a hand on the little girl's head, smiling at her in amusement. Marron looked up. "I'm gonna fly today!"

 _Well,_ he thought, _at least she's still getting along with the kids._

"I doubt it," the older girl responded. "Our lessons start today, but I don't know how long it'll take you to master the technique."

Eighteen glared at the girl. She wasn't thrilled with her teaching style – tough love would be a generous description – but Marron seemed to be enjoying her lessons and was very fond of the teenager. Krillin had suggested that it was because Acia reminded Marron of her mother, and Eighteen had decked him.

"How have your lessons been going Mar?" Gohan asked as the rest of the adults made their way to the kitchen.

"Watch this!" The little girl cupped her hands together, concentrating hard. Slowly, a small ball of blue _ki_ began to form in her hands. The eight-year-old lifted her hands triumphantly to show him. "See!"

A smiled tugged at Acia's mouth. It was, of course, pathetic – that little thing wouldn't even scratch her – but nonetheless it was a major improvement over what the girl had previously been capable of. And it was all because of her efforts! She swelled with the sense of achievement; this must be why Bain had taught her so much.

"Wow Marron, that's amazing!" Gohan praised.

"Alright, let's go," Acia said, motioning towards Bulla to join them as she led Marron towards the backyard.

"I'll come too," Gohan said as he made to follow them.

"Aww, come on Gohan!" Trunks groaned. "I thought we were gonna play!"

"Why do you want to come?" Acia glared at him.

"Well," he said carefully, "Bulla already knows how to fly. What's she going to do while you teach Marron?"

"She will meditate." Behind her, Bulla moaned in protest.

"Hey B," Gohan said, looking over Acia's shoulder at the little girl, "how 'bout I spar with you instead?"

Bulla's blue eyes widened. "Really?! Wow Gohan, that's awesome!"

Gohan smiled at Acia, who was wrinkling her nose in disapproval. "It'll be good training for her," he said.

Acia said nothing, instead turning on her heels and marching to the backyard.

Gohan and Goten exchanged a look. "You suck Gohan," Trunks complained. "I haven't seen you in ages, and you want to play with some dumb girls instead of us."

"Aww, come on Trunks, don't get mad. You and Goten should come out and spar with us." Gohan smiled at the boy.

"Yeah Trunks!" Goten exclaimed. "It'll be fun."

Trunks pouted. He was clearly outnumbered, and he wasn't used to going along with other people's plans instead of his own. _It's all her fault,_ he thought glumly as he followed his friends outside.

Acia glared at the little blonde girl standing in front of her, eyes closed. She was poking around in her mind, trying to see if the girl was really concentrating as she had been told. It was something she did regularly when training Marron and Bulla – it was just too hard to resist, and she figured since she wasn't actually controlling anything, just looking, it would be fine. Besides, it was the only way she could make sure the girls were clearing their minds and focusing on their energy as ordered.

Marron was currently thinking about unicorns. Acia didn't know what those were, but they clearly had nothing to do with the task at hand. She reached out and smacked the little girl upside her head.

"Ouch!"

"Concentrate on your energy!" Acia yelled.

Some distance away, Gohan watched the exchange out of the corner of his eye as he blocked Bulla's enthusiastic attack. _Gosh,_ he thought, _is she always like this?_

Marron's brows furrowed as Acia poked around in her mind until she was satisfied, pulling out after a few minutes. The girl was finally doing what she was told, and Acia could feel her energy building.

Several minutes passed.

Marron opened her eyes. "I can't do it."

Acia bent down into her face. "Well if you can't do it, then why," her voice began to rise, "are you _wasting my time?"_

Marron squirmed under her gaze. "I want to learn…"

"Then stop whining." Acia straightened herself again. "Try again." Obediently, Marron closed her eyes and concentrated on her _ki._

After some time Acia slumped onto the grass, stretching her legs out. Clearly this was going to take a while. She should've brought a book – currently she was in the middle of one called 'Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus,' which she'd mistaken for a historical account of the origins of the human race. It wasn't, and Acia was both fascinated and horrified that people were actually willing to provide such intimate details of their personal relationships. Humans were a strange bunch.

"Hey!"

Acia looked up to see Gohan standing next to her, with Bulla and the boys behind him. "We're going to go inside and get something to eat. You guys wanna take a break?"

Marron opened an eye. Acia kicked at her. "She's not going anywhere until she can get off the ground."

Gohan sighed to himself. He couldn't help but think back to the time he taught Goten and Videl how to fly. This was very, very different.

"You know," Gohan suggested, "maybe a gentler method would get better results."

"When I require your advice I will inform you," Acia snapped.

"I taught Goten to fly, and I taught a human girl too."

"When I require your advice," Acia repeated through gritted teeth, "I will inform you. Now go away!" She glared at them. "You're distracting her!"

Gohan looked over at Trunks, who shrugged at him. This was pretty much par for the course for Acia's training sessions. _Well,_ Gohan thought, _I bet her parents were really tough on her._ Besides, the man who'd trained him had started off by throwing him at a mountain and then abandoning him in the wilderness for six months, and he'd only been half Marron's age. And gods only knew what Vegeta did to Trunks when they were in the Gravity Room together. In comparison, Acia was a huge softie.

"You can do it Marron!" Goten cheered.

"GO AWAY!"


	17. Chapter 17

By the time Acia and Marron had finally come back inside the party was well underway. The other Z-fighters had arrived and everyone was in the Briefs' spacious living room, chatting and munching on snacks.

"Hey!" Krillin called out when he noticed his daughter come in. "How did it go?"

Marron shook her head sadly.

"I thought she wasn't coming in until she could do it," Trunks asked.

Acia shrugged. "I got hungry."

"Aww, it's okay Mar," Krillin smiled at her. "You'll get the hang of it."

"Oh she will." Acia glared down at the girl. Marron pushed her head against the older girl's side and Acia put an arm around her shoulder, squeezing gently. It lasted only a moment before Acia pushed her off. "Now go join the other children, I need to eat." Marron skipped over with to the corner where Bulla, Goten and Gohan were sitting on the floor talking.

After eating her fill in sandwiches Acia retreated to a corner, watching the Z-gang as they talked and laughed together.

"You're acting like Vegeta."

Acia looked up at Eighteen, and then to her right where her uncle was indeed standing with his arms crossed, observing the group from a distance.

She said nothing.

Eighteen stood in front of her for a minute, waiting for a response from the teen. Finally she gave up, rolling her eyes. "Fine. Be that way."

* * *

Acia rolled over in her bed for what must have been the fiftieth time that night.

Nothing she did seemed to help her get comfortable. Her room felt unbearably hot and stuffy and her blanket tangled around her legs like chains.

Frustration mounting, the teen got up and went over to her window, pushing it open and taking a deep breath of the cool night air. She pulled her hair from her neck and let the breeze waft over her skin.

She stood like that for a few minutes, leaning against the windowsill. It was a cloudy, cold night and the breeze helped with the heat she felt building under her skin, but Acia still felt suffocated in this room, this house, this planet.

Before she even realized what she was doing, Acia was crawling out of the window in the t-shirt and cotton shorts that Bulma had given her to sleep in and launching herself into the night.

Subconsciously she headed towards a forest she'd seen on her way to the Lookout that was about an hour's flight from Capsule Corp. Landing in a small clearing, Acia took a deep breath.

It didn't help. Somehow, even surrounded by trees and open air, her chest felt constricted and she felt nauseous. She pulled her knees into her chest, pressing her face against the impossibly hot skin and breathing heavily.

She shouldn't have gone down to the party. She should've just stayed in her room. The only reason she'd even come was because there was food. But it had been a terrible, terrible idea.

Acia felt her breath catch in her throat as tears started to form, and she pushed the sobs down. That atmosphere, all those old friends sitting together, eating, drinking, talking, laughing, teasing each other…

* * *

Once when the Crusher Corps had stopped at Quelda, Finn, Quaorin and DeeDee, the only other female in their group, had taken her out to tour the marketplace. Instead of a trading outpost, the troupe was staying in the main planet's capital city and the marketplace there never ceased to amaze then-11-year-old Acia. It seemed to her that there was nothing you couldn't get in that place.

She'd been so small back then, just reaching Finn's knees. Finn was about 5'10'' and Quaorin a whopping 6'7", and she had felt practically invisible walking between the two of them. When they returned to the guest house they were all staying in, she had hidden behind them as DeeDee knocked on her parents' door.

"Come in."

Her parents were sitting on the bed without their armor and scouters, her father drinking wine from a bottle.

"You two have been having fun," DeeDee said in a mocking tone.

"Oh yeah," her father laughed.

"What about you guys?" Cora asked.

"We've been having lots of fun! In fact," DeeDee said, gesturing to the two men standing in the doorway, "we have a little surprise for you."

On cue, Finn and Quaorin had shifted aside to reveal little Acia clad in a set of purple and orange traditional Queldan robes. Saiyan children were much smaller than Queldan children, and the smallest size the store had available was a good two sizes too large for Acia – the sleeves came over her hands and the bottom dragged behind her – but she marched into the room and struck a pose regardless.

Her parents had burst out laughing at the sight of her. "You look _ridiculous_ ," her father squealed, clutching his side.

"She looks beautiful," Finn countered as he leaned over his friend and snatched the wine bottle out of his hand, taking a swig.

"Yeah! I look nice!" Acia pouted, her hands on her hips.

"Especially with that angry face," Quaorin teased, scrunching his face to mimic her. Acia punched him in the shin.

"Where is our green friend?" DeeDee asked as she settled onto the couch.

"Let me find him," Finn plopped on the floor with the bottle. After a few minutes, he got up to open the door.

"Yes? What is it?" Bain stood near the door, arms crossed and a restless expression on his face.

"Come sit with us," Finn said.

The Namekian glared at him. "You said there was something important."

"There is!" Quaorin said. "What do you think of Acia's new look?"

Bain turned to look at the girl, who was sitting on the bed next to her father. His mouth opened slightly; crouched next to her father, Acia looked like she was being swallowed whole by piles of cloth.

There was a pregnant pause as Bain searched for words. "You see," Turles said, lowering his head towards her, "Nameks can't lie. It's one of the many strange things about their race."

"See, to me that sounds like an evolutionary flaw," Finn said.

"It _sounds_ like bullshit," DeeDee said, giving the Namekian a skeptical look.

"Does she look nice or not?!" Quaorin demanded.

"She looks…smaller than usual," Bain finally said before turning away to sit on the floor next to Finn. There was a beat. Then howls of laughter. Even Bain cracked a small smile.

"STOP LAUGHING AT ME!" Acia's face was red as she crawled out from behind her father.

"You're making the angry face again," Quaorin laughed.

"Where'd you get those anyway?" her mother asked as the laughter calmed down. "Did you buy them 'Rin? How much were they?"

"Finn bought them."

"It's a present," the green-haired man said before Cora could offer to pay for them, smiling sheepishly.

"You spoil her too much," Turles said to him.

"She is a princess," Finn said. DeeDee rolled her eyes.

" _My_ princess," he replied, flicking his tail in Acia's face.

"Father!" Acia squealed, giggling.

"Oh, _now_ you don't like it?" He leaned over her, tickling her neck and side with his tail as she squirmed with laughter. He turned back to his friend. "You want one, get your own." Turles looked around on the bed. "Where's my drink?" he demanded.

Finn laughed, waving the bottle he'd swiped in the Saiyan's face.

"You see?!" Turles said, turning to his mate. "He keeps taking my shit."

"Good gods!" DeeDee glared at him. "Ci is not part of your shit. Honestly, you Saiyans are the _worst_ parents." Bain chuckled.

"You got kids?" her father retorted. "No? Then fuck you."

"Fuck you!" DeeDee grabbed a pillow from the sofa she was laying on and launched it at his head, hitting him square in the face.

 _"Fuck you!"_ Her father threw the pillow back at her, but he'd been drinking quite a bit and missed her, instead hitting Quaorin who had been sitting next to her.

"HEY!" The Queldan tackled his attacker, wrestling with him on the bed. Her mother had carefully moved out of the way while Acia squealed, her father's spiky hair tickling her legs as the two struggled.

Finn was still laughing. "Watch out for the kid," he called out. But her mother had beaten him to the punch, pulling her out from under her father and throwing her onto the sofa. She landed face-down in DeeDee's lap.

"You see?" DeeDee said to no one in particular, gesturing to the 11-year-old as she pushed herself up on DeeDee's legs. "This is what I'm talking about." She turned to Cora, eyebrow raised. _"Worst parents ever."_

"Oh shut up," her mother said as she sat down next to her. She picked up another pillow and threw it at the fighters squirming on the bed as each struggled to gain the upper hand. "Gouge his eyes out!" she yelled.

"Who was that for?" Finn asked as the five of them watched the fight.

Cora shrugged. "Whoever wants to take the advice."

* * *

Tears seared against Acia's face, her breath shaking against her legs. Her nails dug into her wrists as she hugged her knees. She wanted to go _home,_ would give anything, do anything…

She felt so abandoned, so alone. Finn had promised her that he would always be there to take care of her, and he was the first one to leave her. Her mother had told her once that on Planet Vegeta they used to send weak babies to faraway planets – either the children wiped out the planet and became stronger for the experience, or they died. Was that what they were doing? Leaving her to die on a distant planet because she was too weak?

Acia bit her lip so hard she drew blood. Her parents cared for her. She knew that. Of course they cared for her. They would come back for her. Soon. Maybe they were on their way now…

Acia looked up, for a second hoping that she would see their ship making its way to Earth. But the heavy clouds blanketed the night sky, blocking out the stars.

The teenager closed her eyes, wiping the dampness from her cheeks and trying to steady her breath. Finally she opened them again, looking up, and, as if on cue, the clouds parted to reveal a bright, beautiful full moon.

 _Oh no. No, no, no, no, no. NO!_

Acia scrambled to her feet, squeezing her eyes shut, desperately trying to fight the transformation. But it was too late.

Her back arched and her fists clenched as the transformation took hold and her clothes tore away from the giant Oozaru she became. She could feel every part of it – hair, muscles, teeth, snout, claws and most of all, pure, raw power.

She roared.


	18. Chapter 18

Krillin jolted up in bed, his muscles tense. _What the hell was that?!_

"What is it?" Eighteen groaned, her voice muffled by the pillow her face was smothered in.

"I just felt this huge surge of energy," Krillin said. "I think it's coming from somewhere near Bulma's place."

Eighteen rolled over to face him. "It's probably just Vegeta checking himself out as a Super Saiyan."

"At," Krillin turned to look at the alarm clock on his nightstand, "2:30 in the morning?"

"He's a self-absorbed nutcase. Just go back to sleep."

Krillin lay down, trying to settle back into sleep. That power – it sure didn't _feel_ like Vegeta, but maybe it was just hard to tell from so far away. After all, who else could it be?

* * *

In a matter of minutes Acia had transformed completely into a giant Oozaru, her form towering over the trees.

Acia had been trained by her father to control her Oozaru form, but her training was far from complete. She could form a few words and she could focus, to some extent, her destructive powers, but resisting the urge to kill and destroy? That had never been on her father's agenda. And on top of it all, she hadn't used this form in over a year, not since Finn…

She beat her fists into the ground, trying to focus the energy, desperately resisting the instinct to level everything she laid eyes on. Even as the monster took control, Acia could still think and she knew that Capsule Corp. wasn't too far away – in this form she could crush them all under one foot.

She roared again, pummeling the Earth with her fists, tearing up trees and launching them at the mocking stars.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?"

Piccolo was floating above her looking horrified and shocked.

 _It's me!_ She tried to scream. _Please, help me!_ But all that came out was grunting.

"Why did you do this Acia?! Are you insane?!"

She shook her head violently, trying to indicate that she didn't mean to transform. She opened her mouth to try to speak, and Piccolo dodged away from her.

But instead of the _ki_ blast he had been expecting, Oozaru-Acia only made more grunting sounds. Finally, he could make out a word.

"He…Helppp…Help."

"Help?" Piccolo repeated incredulously.

"Puh…puh…plea…please."

He stared at her, bewildered. What did she expect him to do? How could he possibly help her when she was in this form?

Piccolo looked up at the moon. He didn't want to have to do this again, but it looked like there was no choice…

"YOU LITTLE BITCH!"

 _Oh great,_ Piccolo thought as he turned to face an enraged Vegeta.

"HOW DARE YOU!" he screamed at her, his face contorted with rage and his arm raised as he formed a flat _ki_ blast that closely resembled Krillin's Destructo Disc, although the wise carefully refrained from pointing out that similarity to him.

"Vegeta, what are you doing?!" Piccolo yelled at him as he tried to block the Saiyan's path. "Calm down!"

"I'm going to cut off that damned tail! Now get out of my way before I slice you in half along with it!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Acia roared, rearing up and lashing out at her uncle. The back of her hand hit him hard, slamming him through some nearby trees.

"Acia, what are you doing?!" Piccolo yelled. She roared again, beating her chest.

"Acia?" Goku appeared seemingly from nowhere, his face confused and worried as he made his way over to Piccolo. "She transformed? Why?"

"I don't know," Piccolo replied as the two watched Oozaru-Acia pound the ground beneath her into a deep crater, roaring and screaming. "I think it may have been unintentional. She asked me to help her."

Goku frowned at her. "She sounds like she's in pain. What are we going to do?"

"Well," the Namekian said as he once again began to aim for the moon, "there's two things I know of that we can do about this, and since I vowed not to touch her tail," _and since I just saw what she did to the last guy who threatened her tail,_ he thought wryly, "we only have one choice."

"Wait," Goku said, grabbing his arm. "I have another idea." Slowly, he moved closer to the transformed Saiyan. "Acia?" he called out. "Acia, do you know who I am?"

The girl could only grunt in response, but Goku took that as a 'yes.' In fact, Acia had latched onto Goku's voice – when she had trained this form with her father, she would sometimes focus on his voice when she felt herself losing control.

"You don't want to hurt anyone, do you?" Goku asked, moving closer. Oozaru-Acia shook her head, then roared violently, trying to convey to him that she didn't want to harm anything but in this form, she couldn't help it.

"Okay Acia, here's what I'm gonna do," Goku began to form a _ki_ blast in his hands, "I'm gonna knock you out, okay? Don't resist."

Quickly, Goku focused on his _ki_ ball, trying to use his estimation of her power to gauge how much energy he would need to knock her out, but not really hurt her. As she reared up again, Goku blasted her in the chest.

Oozaru-Acia flailed backwards, losing her balance and falling onto her back. The breath had been completely knocked out of her and for a moment her eyes closed and she thought she would fall into a blissful blackness. But it wasn't to be. Slowly she staggered back onto her feet. Now, Oozaru was pissed and Acia was terrified, and together they wanted to destroy everything in sight.

She roared, grabbing a nearby tree, ripping it out of the ground and throwing it at the two men.

"This is hopeless!" Vegeta was back now, and being thrown through some trees had not helped his mood. "We need to cut off her tail, it's the only way!"

"No," Piccolo said, squatting down a little and forming his own _ki_ blast, "I swore I would never harm her tail, and I can't allow you to either."

Vegeta grabbed him by the collar of his cape. "Listen to me, you green freak! My wife and children are asleep practically around the corner, and she is losing control of this form!"

"She's trying, Vegeta," Goku said quietly.

"Trying isn't good enough!" he screamed. "Do you have any idea the kind of damage she could do if loses control? She could destroy the whole planet!"

"We can do this," Goku said firmly. "Come on Piccolo, on three."

Together, the two friends launched _ki_ attacks at the Oozaru, hitting her at the same time. Once again, she fell back with a roar of pain. The three men stayed on guard for a few minutes, but it soon became clear that she was not getting back up again anytime soon.

Slowly, they approached her. She moaned loudly, her legs twitching as she tried to turn herself onto her side. Quickly, Vegeta pointed his palm at her head, hitting her with a small blast that finished the job. Then, he turned to glare at Piccolo and Goku. "Now what?"

* * *

The first few rays of sunlight peaked out from behind the trees like the glint of hope in the darkness. Piccolo sighed deeply. Soon the sun would be up, its light camouflaging the moon, and this nightmare would be over.

The three men had agreed to keep watch over the unconscious Oozaru-Acia until the sun came up and she went back to normal. An hour into their watch, Goku managed to convince Vegeta to go home, promising that if Acia woke up in her Oozaru form Vegeta could beat him into a bloody pulp.

Sure enough, as the sun came up and the moonlight faded away, Acia's transformation began to reverse. She shrunk, losing her fur and snout until all that was left was her, naked in the crater she had made, her tail hanging limply against her legs.

Goku quickly closed his eyes and turned away – Chi Chi had been very clear early in their marriage about what things he was and was not allowed to see – as Piccolo landed softly in the dirt and made his way over to her.

The Namekian sighed again. As an asexual being, the sight of Acia's naked body stirred only feelings of pity in him. Exposed and helpless, she reminded him of a time not that long ago when he had stood over a four-year-old Gohan in the same state. He would do for her now what he had done for the boy then.

Conjuring an image in his mind of the girl in the last outfit he could recall – black leggings and a gray Capsule Corp. t-shirt – he aimed his palm at her. "Alright, you can look now," he called out to Goku as he examined his handiwork.

"How do you do that?" Goku asked curiously as he came over to him.

Piccolo shrugged as he picked her up. "We should take her to the Lookout. We hit her pretty hard; she may need healing."

The Saiyan nodded firmly and together they launched into the cool air.

* * *

Acia blinked slowly as she regained consciousness, her vision blurry and her head throbbing.

She was in a room, on a bed, but where? She pushed herself up heavily and was hit by a wave of nausea – she pushed it back as she tried to focus her vision and her mind. Where the hell was she? And _what happened to her?_ This was ten times worse than the worst hangover she'd ever had.

Finally her vision focused and she was in a room with pale gray walls, sitting up on a small but comfortable bed. She moved over to the edge, allowing her feet to touch the ground. There was a large window, and through it she could see a bright blue sky and large white clouds.

Clouds. It had been cloudy, that was important somehow.

She blinked. If they were this close, she must be at the Lookout. So, she tried to think, she must've been hurt at the Lookout. Piccolo must have hit her pretty hard. Or Goku. Or both.

 _Oh gods._

Her eyes widened with fear and horror as it all came back to her. She had transformed last night, and Piccolo and Goku had been there. And, oh no, _her uncle,_ and she'd attacked him. Was he alive?!

 _They brought me here to cut off my tail._

Panic gripped her. No, no, no, she could not, _would not,_ allow them to destroy the thing that made her a true Saiyan! If they thought she was going to sit here and wait around for them to mutilate her then they had another thing coming…

Carefully Acia made her way over to the window, fighting the pain in her head and the nausea in her throat. She peeked out; luckily the room she'd been put in faced the back of the Lookout which was conveniently empty. She opened the window slowly and crawled out, landing gently on her feet.

She crouched behind the palace, suppressing her energy as she tried to feel out the presence of others. Mr. Popo and Dende were here, of course, and yes, Piccolo and Goku. She could hear their voices coming from inside the palace. They could discover her absence any minute.

Still crouched, she scurried over to the edge of the Lookout and jumped.

 **A/N: Aaaaand there you have it folks! Thank you so much to all of you reading this story, and to everyone who has left me a review. Please keep them coming!**


	19. Chapter 19

"Told ya it wasn't Vegeta!"

Eighteen shrugged at her husband. She believed, and in fact had told Krillin many times, that his friends were all parasites whose only goal was to dig their claws into his perfect body and drag him into their endlessly complicated problems. It was therefore her policy to remain as detached as possible from any drama, _especially_ Bulma/Vegeta-related drama.

And yet somehow, someway, she and Krillin always ended up involved in the latest problem. Today was a case in point: all she had wanted to do was take Marron to see little Bulla and maybe have a glass of mid-morning wine with the blue-haired scientist as she described, in gory detail, all the terrible things she wanted to do to Master Roshi.

Instead she had walked into the middle of some sort of conference being held to discuss what to do about Vegeta's wayward niece, who had apparently transformed into a giant ape and then run away the night before.

"I don't see what the problem is," Eighteen said to the audience at large. They were all sitting around the kitchen table – Vegeta, looking like he was just barely resisting the urge to blast everything in sight, Bulma, Goku, and Piccolo. "Can't you just feel her out?"

Goku shook his head. "She's suppressing her energy," he explained. "We could find her, but we'd need to be a lot closer to where she's hiding."

Vegeta scowled. "The Namekian at the Lookout told us she was hiding in the forest so we went to find her, but lo and behold she wasn't there. Some god he is."

"She's on the move," Piccolo said, glaring at him. "It's pretty smart of her actually."

"Well," Krillin said, leaning forward, "I get why you guys are worried; I mean, if she were my kid I wouldn't be able to rest until I found her." He smiled at Goku weakly. "But of all people, Acia can take care of herself. I'm sure she'll be fine, and eventually she'll get bored and come back."

"We're not worried about _her,_ you idiot," Vegeta snarled. "We're worried about what she could do in her state. None of you," he said, turning to the rest of the table, "have ever dealt with a teenaged Saiyan, a _real_ teenaged Saiyan," he shot Krillin a dirty look before he could interrupt him. "You look at her and you see this petite, practically human girl, but believe me, Saiyans her age are _vicious,_ and they have little control over their instincts _._ "

"I think we all agree that we need to find her," Piccolo said, making a mental note of the fact that Vegeta had just referred to a girl that was basically his height as 'petite.' "The question is how do we find her, and what do we do with her once she's found."

"I think we're just gonna have to do this the old-fashioned way," Goku said. "Split up and search till we find her."

"And then what?" Vegeta said. "She comes back here and we all pretend like none of this ever happened?!"

"Yes," Piccolo said simply.

The Saiyan prince glared at him. "I think not. I gave her a direct order and she defied it. That calls for some kind of punishment." He caught the look in Bulma's eye and added, "At least to make sure she doesn't try it again."

Piccolo opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by Goku. "Vegeta, be reasonable. Look, we're pretty sure she didn't mean to transform. I mean, did you ever tell her what days the moon is full here?"

Vegeta opened his mouth to respond, then closed it. He had not, in fact, explained the Earth's lunar calendar to his niece, but he was not about to let that get in the way of his entirely justified anger. "What was she doing outside in the middle of the night in the first place?!" he countered. "I told her to never leave this house without my permission!"

"So she made a mistake," Goku said. "Kids make mistakes, and they don't do what they're told. Sometimes they do the exact opposite of what they're told. She's a kid Vegeta, and she probably misses her parents…"

"Stay out of this, Kakarot. I will discipline her as I see fit. And don't forget, I am the Prince of _All_ Saiyans! That includes her!"

"Don't worry Goku," Bulma smiled at her friend. "I'll keep him in line." Vegeta shot his wife a dirty look.

"Great," Piccolo said. "Now, I'm going to call Chiaotzu and get him to come along."

 _"Why?!"_

"She likes Chiaotzu, and if we're about to scour a planet for one girl we'll need all the help we can get." _With any luck,_ Piccolo thought, _he'll get to her first._

"Right." Goku stood up. "Vegeta and I will go north, up to the mountains. Piccolo, you look for her in the wastelands. Krillin will search to the south, around the islands. Chiaotzu will take the western mountains. Let's go!"

* * *

As her uncle and his comrades formed their game plan, Acia was settling into her second hideout.

She had been hiding out in the forest, scouring for food and a place to rest while her headache subsided. As soon as she felt better she'd moved on to a cave in the highlands that she deemed sufficiently far away from Capsule Corporation and the Lookout. Now it was time to formulate a plan of her own.

Clearly she couldn't stay on this planet any longer. It was only a matter of time before her uncle or one of his friends found her, no matter how much she suppressed her energy or how often she moved. She would leave, she decided, and go to Quelda, and from there she would contact Quaorin. He was, first and foremost, a warrior for his people, and she knew that he always had on him a communication device that enabled him to maintain contact with his home planet. And who knew, if she were lucky, perhaps he was actually on Quelda right now. She could stay with him until her parents came back for her.

So she needed to get her hands on a spaceship, and therein lay her problem. The easiest and most obvious place to get one was Capsule Corp. – she already knew the layout of the compound and, since she'd been working in Bulma's lab, had an access code that would get her into the warehouse where the spaceships were kept. Stealing one would be easy – the security on the ships was less complicated than the one on her parents' bedroom door. On the other hand, she would have to actually go to Capsule Corp., where her uncle, and probably her nephew, were lying in wait.

There was another option. Bulma had told her that this planet had a space program – she could steal a ship from there. But Bulma had neglected to mention _where_ this program was housed, and Acia had no way of knowing how long it would take her to track the place down. Most likely it was in some densely populated area, which would mean that she would have to interact with the humans – no, no, that was a bad idea. She wanted to lay low, not draw attention to herself.

She bit her lip hard. Clearly there was nothing for it. She needed a spaceship, and she needed one fast. If that meant she had to walk into the lion's den to get it, then that's what she would do.

When night fell Acia went on the move again, circling back towards Capsule Corporation – on foot, the better to hide from any airborne men looking for her.

It was very late by the time she reached her destination. She guessed it was around one or two in the morning. Pushing her _ki_ down as far as she could manage, Acia carefully sensed out her former housemates. Bulma and her parents she couldn't feel from this distance, but her uncle and cousins' _kis_ were steady and low – asleep.

 _Good._

The largest building in the sprawling Capsule Corporation compound was the one dedicated to space exploration, and Acia knew for certain it had at least one fully functioning spacecraft inside. Getting in was a simple matter of disabling the electrical system powering the alarm, housed conveniently on the exterior of the building. That done, Acia pushed open a window gently and slid inside.

Feeling her way around in the dark, her senses on high alert, Acia made her way towards the pod. It was huge, and could easily take three or four people.

Acia drew her fingers around the cold metal of the pod, feeling for an access pad. She went around, once, twice.

 _There._ Her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could make out the outline of the pod entrance – but no access pad.

 _Damn it! How do you get into this stupid thing?_

Cursing in her head, the teen bent down and crawled underneath the pod. She took a second to familiarize her fingers with the cramped space before prying open a panel. This was it. Something in here would open that goddamn door, or she would blast it open.

 _Just like old times,_ she smiled to herself as her eyes adjusted to the dark, making out the colors of the wires and what they were connected to. Now it was just a matter of putting this here, and this over there, and…

She allowed herself a quiet chuckle of triumph as she heard the pod door open with a beep. Scurrying out from under it, she leapt inside and made her way to the control panel. Now all that was left was to set the coordinates and the launch sequence and sit back as the ship took care of the rest. What was that, maybe one minute's work? Acia grinned. She would be out of here in no time.

She found herself shushing the machine as the pod whirred to life under her fingertips, lights turning on and various sensors beeping as she quickly tapped in the coordinates for Quelda.

 **'Location found,'** the computer informed her in the feminine robotic voice species all over the galaxy seemed to prefer. **'Voice command activated.'**

"Initiate launch sequence," Acia said as quietly as she could, willing the compound's residents to stay in bed until she could get this thing off the ground.

 **'Access code required. Please enter your access code now.'**

Quickly, she tapped in her six-digit code.

 **'Access denied. Please enter a valid access code.'**

 _What the hell?! What did the stupid thing mean, access denied?!_

Okay, okay, this wasn't so bad. She didn't have time to hack the stupid thing, but she could make an informed guess. On a hunch, she tried Bulla's birthday – the day she'd first arrived on Earth.

 **'Access denied. Please enter a valid access code. You have one more attempt.'**

It's amazing how one simple sentence can induce so much despair.

One more attempt. One more attempt. And then what? Would the pod lock up with her still inside it, or would it trigger some kind of alarm? What else could possibly go wrong…

The lights went on.

Acia's froze in panic. Why were the lights on?! Could she have possibly missed her uncle in her haste to get into the ship?!

 _No, wait, it's not him. It's…_

"There you are, my girl." The curious face of Dr. Briefs, still in his pajamas, looked up at her through the doorway. "What on Earth are you doing here so late?"

"You…I…what…," Acia could do nothing but stare, her body frozen in place as she faced the old man.

"You set off the motion sensors. Most alarm systems are linked straight to the police, but ever since Vegeta moved in we haven't bothered with that. You're quite lucky, you know. If it hadn't been for that you would have been arrested, and I'm sure you don't want that on your permanent record." Dr. Briefs began to climb up the steps into the pod. Acia took a step back, fists clenched tightly and eyes wide as her brain struggled to make sense of what was going on.

"Speaking of Vegeta, it's a good thing you're back. He's been quite worried about you, you know. Of course, I told him there was nothing to worry about. Teenagers get these sort of whims, but they always come back eventually. Why, if Bunny and I had sent out a search party every time Bulma ran off on one of her adventures we'd never have gotten anything done! Now I'm sure you want a nice shower and something to eat. Come along." With that, he hopped out of the pod and began making his way towards the exit.

Acia stood there for a moment, staring at the old man's retreating back. She had no idea what he was talking about, but as much as she could use a shower there was no way she was following him into the house. No, she had to get out of here while the getting was still good.

Moving fast, Acia jumped out of the pod and flew through the window she'd come in and out into the night sky.

Dr. Briefs was out the door before he realized the girl wasn't following him. "Huh. Strange. Perhaps she's still craving adventure." He shrugged and sighed wearily to himself. Teenagers – human, Saiyan, Namekian, they were all the same. Oh well. Eventually the novelty would wear off and she'd be back again.


	20. Chapter 20

"I cannot believe you let her just walk away!"

Vegeta was holding the phone in one hand and a coffee mug in the other, glaring daggers at Dr. Briefs. _The old man is lucky I don't kill people for being annoying anymore,_ he thought.

Unaware of the venomous nature of his son-in-law's thoughts, Dr. Briefs was going about breakfast as usual. "She didn't walk away, she flew," he said matter-of-factly. "There was nothing I could do about it. And I still don't see why you're so worried about the girl. This is just what teenagers do."

Behind his pancakes, Trunks grinned.

"You could have at least woken me up! I could have caught her! Now who knows where she's hiding…"

"Son residence," Goten's polite phone voice came over the speaker. "May I ask who's speaking?"

"Listen brat, tell your father to get his ass over here in the next ten seconds, understood?"

Without waiting for an answer, Vegeta shut the line, then waved the phone at his wife. "Call the midget."

"Which one?"

"Either one!"

"Goodness Vegeta, who knew you were such a protective parent?" Dr. Briefs shook his head. "Really though, she'll be back. Isn't that right dear?"

"Of course!" Bunny Briefs was clearing plates from the kitchen table. "She's just a sweet little girl, and every girl needs a change of clothes and a soft bed to sleep on."

Vegeta scowled at them. "I am not being protective! She has to…"

"Hey guys, what's up?" Goku's smiling face had materialized in the kitchen.

"The brat was here last night. She tried to steal a spaceship."

"Now, now," Dr. Briefs said. "We don't know that. Perhaps she was just looking at it."

Vegeta elected to ignore this. How a man so brilliant could be so gullible was beyond him. "Kakarot, we are going to find her _today._ I am done playing games."

"Alright Vegeta. Say, where were you last night? Weren't you here?"

"Of course I was here!" Vegeta growled. "I was asleep! The good doctor didn't bother to tell me she was here until this morning, and that's only because Bulma brought it up!"

Goku scratched the back of his head. "Gee, Vegeta, I didn't think you'd sleep through her coming into your house. You must be losing your edge in these peaceful times."

"I…she…I am not losing my edge!" Vegeta's face was turning an unattractive shade of red. "Look, are you going to help find her or not?!"

* * *

Two hours later, Chiaotzu was hovering above a cave in the southern wastelands.

She was definitely in here. Just his luck too.

Piccolo had reached out to him early that day, saying that Acia had made an appearance at Capsule Corp. the night before and Vegeta was officially losing it.

Chiaotzu really, really didn't want to get involved with this. It wasn't even his business – she wasn't _his_ niece! But, well, he felt kinda bad for the girl. They had shared few meals after all, although he'd been the one doing most of the sharing, and that rather reluctantly. Still, it had to count for something. And she wasn't a bad person, when you got right down to it. She could be kind of sweet. In a way.

And living with Vegeta would drive anyone over the edge, he reasoned with himself. Look at Bulma – she'd had a child with the man. If that wasn't a sure sign of insanity, Chiaotzu didn't know what was.

So here he was, right above the makeshift residence of a very powerful and volatile teenage girl, expected to talk some sense into her.

He needed backup.

The small human reached out with his mind, looking for Piccolo. Instead, he found…

 _"Hey Chiaotzu, what's up?"_

 _"Listen Goku, is Vegeta with you?"_

 _"No, we split up a while ago. Is everything alright?"_

 _"I found her."_

 _"That's great! I'll be right there!"_

 _"Don't tell Vegeta, okay?"_

 _"Yeah, I think we should probably talk to her first."_

That done, Chiaotzu took a deep breath and landed a few feet away from the cave. Slowly he made his way over, peering inside. "Acia?" he called out tentatively.

Chiaotzu dodged just in time to miss the _ki_ blast that had come shooting out at him from the darkness. He lost his balance for a moment but regained it quickly and crouched into a defensive stance as Acia came running out, her hand raised in front of her.

Her face softened at the sight of him. "It's you!" she said, surprised. She lowered her arm and bent over to look at him more closely. "Are you alright? I didn't hit you, did I?"

"I'm okay," he said as he straightened himself up. He smiled into her concerned face – why had he been so scared of her? "Are _you_ alright? We've all been really worried about you."

He looked her over. There was a piece of fabric tied around her ankle; looking up, he noticed that her shirt was torn. "Are you hurt?"

She shook her head, sitting on the ground. "I sprained my ankle, that's all. How did you find me?"

"We've been searching for you for a couple days now."

"We?"

"Me, Piccolo, Krillin, Goku…Vegeta."

Acia's face crumpled.

Chiaotzu sighed, and gave her hand a small squeeze. "Look, no one's going to hurt you. No one is going to cut your tail off or anything like that."

She looked at him. "I didn't mean to do it," she said in a small voice. "I didn't know the moon was out, it was so cloudy…"

"It's okay Acia, really. Just come home with me, okay?"

"No."

"Why not? Vegeta's mad, but when isn't he? He'll yell a little and it'll be fine, honestly."

"No," she said again, her voice stronger now. "I'm leaving."

"Huh?"

"I'm leaving. I'm taking one of Bulma's spaceships."

"WHAT?!" Goku came running out from seemingly nowhere.

Acia scrambled to her feet and, to Chiaotzu's horror and amazement, _hid behind him._ In different circumstances he would be rolling on the floor laughing at the idea that he could be any kind of defense against Goku, of all people.

"What are _you_ doing here?!"

"You can't leave!"

"Go away!"

"Are you really leaving?!"

"This is not your concern! Why are you even here?!"

"Guys, guys!" Chiaotzu yelled, trying to regain control of the situation. "Everyone stop yelling and let's just talk about this…"

"I'm not saying anything around _him,_ " Acia said, pointing an accusatory finger at Goku.

 _"Me?!_ What did _I_ do?"

"Why don't you just put your hand on my head and find out?!" she spat.

"Aw, Acia!" the man said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "I'm real sorry about that. I didn't think I would see anything so emotional. I won't do it again. You're not really mad at me, are you?"

Acia's face burned with indignation. She'd been so humiliated that day, and now it was all supposed to go away with a smile and an apology? Anger rising, her _ki_ spiked and before her brain could form a protest, she launched herself over Chiaotzu and at Goku.

Goku blocked her furious attack, a bewildered look on his face as Chiaotzu yelled out for her to stop. He had sensed the change in her temperament, but he had not expected this. The girl kicked and punched at him relentlessly, pushing him backwards as he dodged and blocked. Should he fight back, he wondered? He could see she needed to blow off some steam – would engaging her help speed up the process, or would it serve only to enrage her further?

Finally Goku decided on the former approach. With one swift movement he swiped his leg under hers, tripping her onto her back and crouching into a fighter's stance. "You wanna fight me, Acia? Let's fight."

"Goku, what are you doing?!"

The man smiled good-naturedly at his friend. "Don't worry Chiaotzu, it'll be fine."

Acia jumped up, wincing slightly as she landed on the foot she'd injured hunting just a couple hours ago. The logical reasoning part of her brain screamed that this was an exercise in futility, but a deeper, more powerful instinct quashed the voice, urging her to reclaim her pride by defeating the man in front of her. She wanted blood.

The two Saiyans fought for nearly two hours, Chiaotzu sitting in the dirt with his head in his hands. This was a _disaster._ Acia was attacking Goku ferociously; very differently from the methodical approach she normally utilized. She clearly wasn't thinking, going on rage and instinct, and Goku could see that. He focused on defense, occasionally landing a few blows himself. Every time he knocked her down the girl got back up more determined than before, until finally, with one strong hit to her neck, she landed solidly in the dust.

For several long minutes, Acia lay on her back blinking up at the blue sky above, anger seeping away slowly. She was exhausted and her ankle was throbbing. She wondered idly if it had graduated from sprained to broken in the fight.

Eventually she pushed herself up onto her elbows to examine her opponent. He was still standing, of course, but panting and bent over, supporting his hands on his knees. Acia could see bruises and scratches on his arms and face from her attack. It was hardly anything, she conceded, but given his status as a fighter and the state of exhaustion she was in, it would have to do.

Goku walked over to her. "That was a hell of a fight!" he said, holding out a hand to her. She took it, pulling herself up and grimacing at the pain in her foot.

"Are you okay?" Goku asked, reaching down to touch her swollen ankle.

"I'm _fine,"_ she said, pushing his hand away.

"Here," he leaned over, supporting her with his arms. "Look, you're not really going to try to take a spaceship and leave, are you?"

"I'm going to do more than _try,"_ Acia said.

"You can't go!"

 _"Why not?!"_ Acia took a deep breath as she felt frustration building again. "I know what I'm doing. I'm an expert pilot and I know where I'm going and how to get there."

"Where would you go?" Goku sat her on a large rock as Chiaotzu joined them, looking relieved that things had finally settled down.

"There's a planet we used to go to all the time – one of our fighters is from there. He's probably there now, and even if he's not I've met his family, I can stay with them until he shows up."

"Well, that does sound good," Goku conceded, "but I really think you should stay here. I mean, your parents brought you here. They wanted you to be here, with us."

 _Yeah, and then they left me!_ Acia bristled. "I don't care anymore. I _hate_ this planet."

"It's not that bad!" Acia turned to look at the sad face of Chiaotzu. He was right, in a way. Earth was quite nice aesthetically, and not everyone made her feel homicidal. She really liked Chiaotzu, Dende was nice, and the little girls were tolerable. Bulma and Trunks had grown on her. And she was learning a lot – with a little more practice, she'd have telekinesis mastered. But still, things would be better on Quelda, easier, less confusing…

"You don't have to go back to Bulma's right away if you're not ready," Goku said. "Why don't you stay with me for a while?" He gave her a big smile while Chiaotzu tried to tell him to abort mission with his eyebrows. "You'll love it! We live in a real nice place, and I know Goten will be so excited for you to stay over! Chi Chi's cooking is amazing, and she's gonna love you!"

Chiaotzu's eyebrows asked if Goku had, in fact, ever met Chi Chi.

Acia bit the inside of her mouth as she considered the offer. What she really wanted to do was get the hell off this planet. But after last night her uncle was bound to be on high alert for her to make another attempt to take a ship, which meant that her plan had been effectively thwarted, at least for the time being. She was dreading going back to her uncle after what had happened, and she doubted staying at the Lookout was an option. She briefly considered staying with Chiaotzu but dismissed the thought quickly – her uncle would never leave her under the supervision of a weak human. She sighed inwardly. There were worse people in the universe to bunk with than Goku and his family.

Probably.

 **A/N: It feels like it's been forever since I've updated this story, and that's partly because as the plot becomes more complex and the characters' courses intertwine more and more, it's getting harder to write chapters that move the story along at a decent pace while staying true to the characters. Please let me know what you think of my writing so far - any feedback is appreciated!**


	21. Chapter 21

Life at Mt. Paozu was very different, Acia quickly discovered, from life at Capsule Corporation. The food was less fussy and there was a lot less room, which meant that Acia was now sharing a bedroom with Goten while Gohan bunked on the couch. It also meant that Acia heard very clearly the argument that Chi Chi and Goku had concerning her presence.

Chi Chi did not want her there. She was very clear on this point, and Goku had been reduced to practically begging his wife to let her stay for 'just a few days,' much to Acia's disgust. Most people would feel embarrassed at being so clearly unwanted in someone's home, but Acia didn't really care about Chi Chi's opinion of her. Where the woman got off making demands, and so loudly too, was a mystery to the Saiyan girl. She was only slightly stronger than Bulma and had none of her scientific skill, so she was essentially useless except for providing food. And yet she ran the household with an iron fist.

Nothing on this stupid planet made any sense.

The day after she'd arrived at Mt. Paozu, Goku had gone over to Capsule Corp. to explain things to Vegeta and pick up some clothes for her, and Acia herself had gone back to training at the Lookout. She'd returned to a very excited Goten and spent the rest of the afternoon playing with him in the forest, and this quickly became her routine. Goten's games were incredibly infantile but he was much more pleasant than Trunks, and the more time she spent with him outside the less time she spent inside that tiny house under Chi Chi's watchful and very unhappy gaze. Gohan spent of most of the day at university, which she deduced was an advanced school, and had an irregular schedule, but when he was home he was always very polite to her. She got the sense that he was on the verge of saying or doing something but never quite got to it, and she found herself fighting the urge to slap him.

On Acia's third day at Mt. Paozu, Chi Chi was watching the girl from the window as she played with her little boy. Acia was throwing rocks at him as fast as she could while Goten dodged expertly, laughing the entire time.

Chi Chi glared. The girl was a _murderer,_ and yet Goku had been willing, eager even, to allow her under the same roof as his boys. Yes they were Super Saiyans, but you could never be too careful. Why invite the devil indoors? Wasn't it bad enough that Gohan spent nearly all his free time with Piccolo, the man who had once been known as the Demon King, and Goten referred to a genocidal sociopath as _Uncle Vegeta_? How much was she expected to take?!

And on top of it all the girl was downright rude. She never spoke to Chi Chi, acknowledging her only with the tiniest of head nods, and never offered to help cook or clean up around the house. Clearly they didn't teach manners in space. And the way she dressed was shameful! Of course, given that she was living under Bulma's influence for the last few months it was only to be expected, but really, didn't the girl have anything more decent than those tiny dresses and skintight leggings?

"Hey Chi Chi!" The woman had been so distracted by her thoughts she hadn't noticed her husband come up behind her and join her at the window. She smiled at him; he'd been taking a shower and now he smelled like soap.

"It's great that they're getting along so well, don't you think?"

Chi Chi scowled again. "No, I don't think! That girl's trouble Goku. Honestly, how could you think she'd make a suitable friend for our boys?!"

"Aww, come on Chi Chi!" he whined. "She's not so bad!"

Chi Chi's scowl deepened. Her husband had been overly interested in this girl since the day she'd arrived on the planet. It was inexplicable, except…

Chi Chi examined the girl again. She had switched places with Goten and was now the one dodging his rapid-fire throws. In her short green dress she looked almost like a ballerina, moving gracefully as the skirt ruffled around her tanned legs. Even Chi Chi had to admit the girl was beautiful. She'd put on a little weight since she'd arrived, but it had only served to fill out her figure and enhance her curves, and she remained as toned as ever.

Chi Chi's angry expression melted into one of worry as she looked over at her husband, who was smiling at them, at _her_. She'd aged so much over the years, while Goku had hardly changed at all from the day she married him. And now here was this girl, young, beautiful, strong, a _Saiyan,_ more like Goku than Chi Chi would ever be…When Goku had told her Acia was coming to stay, she'd worried about her sweet, innocent, recently heartbroken Gohan, but perhaps she'd been worried about the wrong Son.

"Aww Chi Chi, don't worry! Nothing bad's gonna happen, I promise." Goku had caught the expression on his wife's face and reached over to put his arm around her, drawing her closer to him.

She rested her head on his shoulder. "I just don't understand why you care about her so much," she said quietly, hoping desperately that he would hear the subtext and calm her fears.

"I guess…I just understand how she feels," he replied, scratching his head as he searched for the right words to explain himself. "When…when grandpa died, I was really lonely." Chi Chi looked up into her husband's face. "It's not that I was unhappy exactly, I was just…lonely." Goku shrugged. "I thought I would be by myself forever. So when Bulma came along I was really excited. And then when I was living with Master Roshi and Krillin and Launch, it was just…it was really nice." He looked down and smiled at her. "I felt like I belonged somewhere. Even when I went off to see the world, I always knew I could go back to Kame House and they'd be happy to see me." He shrugged again. "Everyone needs a Kame House."

"But Goku, her parents aren't _dead,_ " Chi Chi pointed out, leaning away from him to meet his gaze. "They're going to come back for her. She doesn't need us to be her family, she already has one!"

Goku sighed deeply, and for the first time in a long time he seemed a little sad. "Have you ever thought about why her parents brought her here in the first place?" Chi Chi shook her head. "I've been thinking about it a lot. At first it didn't make sense. I mean, she's a good fighter, you saw her with Trunks. She could help them. But even if they don't want her to fight, why'd they bring her here? They could've just left her with Vegeta's brother – he was a lot nicer to them when they went to see him." Goku scratched his head again. "Acia told me that there's a planet they used to go to all the time, and she knows people there. Why didn't her parents leave her there with people she already knows, people who like her and care about her?"

Chi Chi stared at her husband. She of all people knew that Goku was no idiot, and he was capable of deep thought and logical reasoning when the mood struck him. But it was rare that he took things so seriously – he'd clearly been thinking about this for a long time.

"So I thought about it," Goku continued, "and the only thing that makes sense is that her parents wanted to leave her somewhere she could belong. I think they went to Vegeta's brother first because they wanted her to be with another Saiyan, but then when they saw how different the people on his planet are from us, and heard about Vegeta and me and how we have wives and kids here, they changed their minds. They wanted her to be somewhere where she could have a life, with other Saiyans in a place where she can fit in a little better, like Vegeta. She'll never be human, but she can at least be one of us."

There was a long pause as Chi Chi took in everything her husband said. "So what you're saying is…"

"I don't think her parents are coming back for her Chi Chi."

* * *

As it turned out, Chi Chi should really have focused her worry on her sweet, innocent, recently heartbroken Gohan.

On Tuesdays Gohan had two early morning classes that ended at 11:00, which left him free for the rest of the day. Usually he took advantage of that time to go visit Dende and Piccolo at the Lookout, but on this particular Tuesday his father had challenged him to a post-lunch spar at the river near their house.

Acia watched the two men go at in Super Saiyan form and sighed deeply. At least at Capsule Corp. she could tinker with things in Bulma's lab or help Trunks do his homework. Life at Mt. Paozu was downright _boring,_ and with Goten locked up in the house, studying under Chi Chi's unrelenting tutelage, she had nothing to do but watch the grass grow.

She wondered what Chiaotzu was doing right now. He had told her the day before that he wouldn't be coming to the Lookout for a couple days, so she'd told Piccolo she'd just train with Goku at the house. So much for that plan.

 _Stupid Chiaotzu,_ she thought as she pulled up blades of grass.

"Oh no!" Goku yelled suddenly, freezing mid-punch. Acia looked up.

"What is it Dad?"

"Chi Chi told me to go into town and pick up some groceries for dinner! What time is it?!" he looked around, panicked, as if the trees could tell him. "Oh, Chi Chi's going to kill me! And there won't be anything to eat!"

And just like that, he disappeared.

Acia stared at the spot he used to be. Perhaps the woman would poison his food? It was the only way she could possibly kill him.

Maybe she should wait until everyone else had taken a bite before eating her dinner tonight.

"Heh, well, that's Dad for ya!" Gohan gave her a sheepish smile as he powered down. "So, um…"

Before Gohan could finish his thought, Acia had jumped to her feet and launched herself at him. After all, why should the boys get all the fun?

As the two sparred, Acia felt frustration building. Gohan was refusing to engage her properly – the way it was going this spar would barely amount to a warm-up, let alone a solid training session. He was treating her like a _weakling,_ like the two little girls she trained on weekends. It was insulting.

Taking advantage of a momentary lapse in his cover, Acia punched Gohan as hard as she could in the gut and as he doubled over, knocked him in the head with her elbow and tripped him with her foot. He landed on his back with a thud and Acia quickly pinned him to the ground, holding his hips between her knees.

"I'm bored!" she said as she glared down at him.

"Huh?"

"This is boring. You're _boring_. Are you going to fight me properly or not?"

"Uh…" Gohan felt his face turn red. Acia's tank top and leggings didn't exactly leave a whole lot to the imagination, and he was acutely aware of her weight on top of him. Her warm, firm weight.

"I th-thought it was going pretty well?"

Acia picked up on his embarrassment, but it took her a moment to realize that she was the cause of it. Experimentally, she squeezed his hips between her thighs – sure enough, Gohans' face became even redder and his eyes widened in panic.

There was also…something pressing up against her...

Acia had no experience with boys, especially not ones her own age. It wasn't that she wasn't aware of sex or what it entailed. She had a pretty clear idea of what her parents got up to in their room after missions, and how Finn and Quaorin spent their money and downtime whenever they were planet-side in a place with…suitable females. DeeDee had demonstrated many times that you didn't have to beat up a man to get what you wanted from him; smiling and bending forward slightly could achieve the same effect. Besides, as the Crusher Corps' expert on alien anatomy, she had become pretty familiar with different methods of reproduction utilized by species across the universe.

But sex was something that happened to other people. Her parents had made it very clear that since there were no more Saiyans she would never have a mate. The idea of half-breed children was one that everyone, including Bain (who as far as Acia was concerned really wasn't in a position to be passing judgement on other people's breeding practices), regarded with disgust. And since she was rarely without a chaperone, especially not in the seedier areas of the galaxy where she could potentially attract that kind of interest, the opportunity to explore the topic more casually had never really presented itself.

Until now. Gohan was a half-breed and the human race was pathetic, but he was the closest thing to a Saiyan of her generation she was likely to meet, he was incredibly powerful and, most importantly, _there was no one around to tell her not to._

Slowly, she slid a hand under his shirt.

"A-Acia? What are you doing?" Gohan was in uncharted territory here. His relationship with Videl, which had ended along with his high school career, had included a physical component, but it was one that had built up over time and maxed out at second base. This kind of interaction with a girl he barely knew was not something he had anticipated.

He really, really needed her to get off him. She was causing things to happen that would be…difficult to get rid of. He should just push her away. It would only be too easy – she wasn't even holding him down anymore.

And yet...

Acia heard herself reply, "I'm bored. If you're not interested in fighting, I have to find another way to entertain myself." With that, she moved her hand lower, past the waistband of his pants, until she found what she was looking for.

She was doing him a favor, really. It was obviously bothering him.

She squeezed.

Gohan's eyelids fluttered and his mouth formed a silent 'O,' his hands grasping clumps of the grass beneath him. With her free hand, Acia dug her nails into his shoulder, leaning forward so that their faces were closer together, following a hitherto unknown instinct that had suddenly kicked in.

A few short minutes later, Acia was cleaning her hand in the river. "That was a lot messier than I expected." Drying her hand on her shirt, she turned back to Gohan, who was still lying in the grass, trying to figure out what just happened. "I'm hungry," she informed him.

With that she made her way back to the house, leaving him confused in the grass.

 **A/N: This is my first time writing a chapter with sexual content, and while I don't believe it's explicit, I'd appreciate your opinions as I want to keep this story T-rated.**


	22. Chapter 22

Gohan proceeded to have one of the most awkward dinners he could remember. And he'd had dinner at Capsule Corp. once after walking in on Bulma and Vegeta in a similarly compromising situation.

Afterwards he'd escaped to his room, pacing up and down as he tried to make sense of what had happened. What _had_ happened?! He'd completely lost all sense and control – not that this was the first time that had happened. But Videl had always known when and where to draw the line, keeping their interactions strictly PG-13. Acia though, Acia had had a look on her face that he couldn't explain. Curiosity, surprise, enjoyment, some other strange emotion he couldn't place. Why had she done that? They barely knew each other. Gohan couldn't even work up the nerve to ask her about her family like he'd planned; she always seemed so aloof and it was more than a little intimidating. So why would she do this? Was she trying to torture him?

Maybe, he thought, maybe this was some sort of cry for help on her part. It wasn't that surprising if you thought about it – she'd been left by her parents with an uncle, who, let's face it, was disinterested at best and hadn't even wanted to take her in in the first place. Gohan could always find something good to say about anyone, but he had to admit that Vegeta's parenting skills could use some work. A lot of work. And who knew what her own parents were like? They may not have been any better.

Maybe this was her way of looking for some warmth and affection, love even.

Gohan was not one to reject a wounded creature when he found one. No, he was one to cuddle the creature, feed it, tend its wounds, build it a nest somewhere warm and safe, and sneak out to care for it behind his mother's back.

And given how his mother and Acia were getting along...

* * *

The next day, Gohan took advantage of Goten's playdate with Trunks to get some alone time with his new houseguest.

"Listen, we really need to talk about what happened yesterday."

They were sitting outside in the grass in the field where Gohan usually trained with Goten. Acia was stretched out, propped up on her elbows, her bare feet nestled in the blades. She looked at Gohan, who was sitting up across from her, through her bangs – had they grown out a little since she'd gotten here, Gohan wondered. Was that even possible?

 _Focus Gohan, focus._

Acia gave him a curious look, her dark eyes sharp and bright in the midday light. "Do we?"

Gohan cleared his throat self-consciously. "I – I obviously don't know much about you and what your expectations might be, but here on Earth we…" He paused, trying to find the right words to express himself.

Acia didn't have time for that. _"What?"_ She was starting to lose interest in this conversation, and it was only about 10 seconds in. The only reason she'd even agreed to coming along with Gohan was because she'd been under the impression that they were going to spar, but once again that was clearly not going to happen.

She glared at him. Trunks and Goten had insisted that Gohan's strength and ability rivalled Goku and Vegeta, and although she'd dismissed that particular claim as the hyperbole of hero-worship, it was obvious that Gohan was at least third in line behind the two older Saiyans. But you wouldn't know it to hear him talk. How hard would you have to push him, she wondered, before he finally grew a backbone and asserted himself?

"We can't just do stuff like that!" Gohan blurted out, his brow shiny with the sweat of rising anxiety. "Here we go on…on dates and build a relationship before we, before things get se – physical."

Acia raised a brow. "That's not true. What about…," her eyes shifted to the side slightly as she tried to recall the phrase, "friendship benefits?"

Chi Chi was right about one thing, life at Capsule Corp had definitely introduced Acia to a set of moral values that were not embraced in the Son household.

Gohan's face burned. "I…we…that's not something we…"

"Whatever." Acia got up, brushing grass from her dark leggings. Stretching, she said, "I'm bored again. Take me to the Lookout."

"Oh." Gohan stood up, not sure how to proceed. This was not how this conversation was supposed to go.

Catching the look on his face, Acia sighed. "I understood your point."

"You did?" Gohan wasn't sure _he_ understood his point.

"Yes. Perhaps you prefer males…"

"WHAT?"

"…or you have a relationship like the one you referenced earlier. Or there's some other reason. To be honest, I don't particularly care to know. The point is that you don't want me to approach you again. That's your loss, of course, but…"

 _"WHAT?"_

Acia shrugged. "Well, it wasn't particularly enjoyable for me."

Gohan sighed heavily with exasperation. "That wasn't what I was trying to say _at all._ And I'm not interested in men! N-not that there's anything wrong with that." He felt his hand move instinctively to the back of his head. "But I'm not."

Acia crossed her arms. "So what was your point?"

"I just – I thought you might like to go on a date!" _Why is this always so hard?_

Acia's expression changed from one of annoyance to one of surprise. "Oh." This was an unexpected development in her life, and she had a feeling that this was probably not a good idea.

On the other hand, she'd seen enough of Mrs. Briefs' soaps to know that dating involved food – at the man's expense.

* * *

A few days later, the two teens sat down for their first date (Acia's first date _ever_ ) at one of the few places in Satan City that hadn't banned the Son family. The two Saiyans gorged themselves in silence for a good 30 minutes before Gohan was finally full enough to take a stab at conversation.

"So, um," he began as Acia started on her fourth bowl of rice, "I've been meaning to ask, your dad and my grandpa are brothers, right?" She nodded. "So, did he ever talk about him? Your dad, I mean, about my grandpa?"

Acia put her chopsticks down carefully. "Yes, sometimes." _Usually when he was drunk,_ she thought to herself. Her father preferred not to dwell on memories of their decimated planet and dead families, but her mother was the exact opposite, determined to pass down every detail of a world that once was to her only child. It was mostly her mother's memories that she drew upon now. "Bardock was very well-known among our people."

"Bardock," Gohan repeated, trying out the unfamiliar name on his tongue.

"Yes. He was a great fighter and was really popular among the warriors of the third-class. He developed quite a reputation working for Frieza…"

Gohan's face fell. "He worked for Frieza?"

Acia shrugged. "Everyone worked for Frieza. Anyway," she continued, "Bardock was very strong and very popular." She smiled suddenly, memories of her parents' playful banter coming to her. "Father likes to say that he was all muscle and no brains, but mother says it's just because he's jealous. Bardock was much older than my father, so he was already something of a hero by the time my father joined Frieza's army."

Gohan waited patiently for a moment, but as Acia returned to her rice it became clear that that was all she had to say on the subject. "What about my grandmother? His wife? Do you know anything about her?"

Acia shook her head. "Not really. My father didn't like her very much. I think she got him into some trouble. Or she got Bardock into trouble. I'm not really sure; he didn't talk about it." She paused, then added, "He always said she was the reason Raditz turned out so weak."

Gohan's eyes widened. "You knew Raditz?!" His voice was suddenly much louder than was appropriate.

Acia stared at him, surprised at this sudden change in demeanor. "No. I only ever heard about him, and your father."

Gohan paused, his mind drifting back to what was still one of his worst memories, despite everything he'd gone through since. "Raditz came for my dad," he said quietly. "He tried to kidnap me. My dad died trying to save me."

Acia felt an annoyingly familiar lump form in her chest. Guilt, _again._ She hadn't even done anything this time! "Well, my father always said he was an idiot," she said in a feeble attempt at comforting. Then her brain caught up with her ears. "Wait a minute, your father _died?!"_

"Yeah," Gohan gave her a sheepish smile. "It's kind of a long story. But, um, is there anything else you know about our family? What's our last name?" That was something he'd always secretly been curious about.

"Last…name?"

"Yeah, you know, like a family name." When she still looked at him with confusion, Gohan clarified. "For example, my name is Gohan Son. My dad is Goku Son. We're the Son family. You know what I mean?"

Understanding registered. "Oh, you mean a clan name?"

"Yeah, okay!"

"I don't know," she said simply, returning her attention to her meal.

"What?! How can you not know your own name?"

Acia stared at him incredulously. What was he _talking_ about? "Of course I know _my_ clan name. I just don't know yours. Or rather, I don't know your father's."

"But…aren't we from the same clan? If my grandfather is your dad's brother?"

"What does that have to do with –," once again, Acia found herself replaying the conversation in her mind. Goku Son. _Gohan Son._

She really should pay more attention.

"We don't get our clan names from our father's family, we get them from our mother's. So I know _my_ father's clan name, but I don't know _your_ father's because I don't know his mother."

"Really?" Gohan was surprised. _Then again,_ he thought, _it makes sense._ It would explain why Vegeta had never protested the fact that his children were both Trunks and Bulla Briefs, even though he and Bulma had tied the knot nearly a year before Bulla was born.

"So what's your clan name then?"

Acia rubbed her temples. It occurred to her vaguely that maybe _she_ was this annoying when she asked the Earthlings about their social norms and practices. Still though, this should be obvious. "Vegeta."

Impossibly, Gohan's eyes widened even further. "Huh? Wha…"

"A clan name," Acia said slowly, "derives from the place a person is from, where they are born. The mother usually gives birth in her home territory, so she passes on her clan name to the child. For example," she continued, since the look of complete incomprehension had not yet left Gohan's face, "my father, and your grandfather, were both born in a place called Ter-khader. That's where their mother is from, so that's their clan name."

"And your mother was born…"

"The royal family is different. They belong to no one territory and so they cannot belong to one particular clan. They belong to the whole planet and all its people."

"But still," Gohan pointed out, "shouldn't your mother have taken on _her_ mother's clan name? I mean, Vegeta was the name of the king right?"

"Yes," Acia said. This, she had to admit, was where things got a little complicated. "But the same rules don't apply to the royal family. When the king acknowledges a child, they become a part of the royal family and so must take on the royal name. They can't be part of the royal family and have a clan name at the same time, because then how could they be impartial as rulers?"

"So…your dad didn't…acknowledge you?"

"Of course he did!" Acia seethed at him. "But he's not the king! Only the king passes down his name. In every other circumstance, the mother does, regardless of whether the father wants the child or not."

"Oh okay," Gohan said, leaning back. "I think I get it now."

"Good."

"Man, I always wanted to know what our last name would be."

"You don't know your mother's clan name?"

"Hey!" Realization sparked in his eyes. "You're right! I guess I would be Gohan Ox."

Acia smirked at him. "I would stick with Gohan Son if I were you."


	23. Chapter 23

"Hey Krillin!" Gohan and Acia had left the restaurant and were taking a walk around Satan City when they'd caught sight of a familiar police officer on patrol.

The small man gave them a wide smile as he ambled up to them, coffee cup in hand. "Hey guys! Good to see you out and about!" He wisely decided to avoid mention of Acia's recent transformation, especially since she was now staring at him in a strange and vaguely discomforting way.

 _This is the man who should, by rights, be ruling this planet,_ Acia thought to herself as she examined Krillin and his strange outfit carefully. _And none of these pathetic humans have the least idea._

"No donut?" Gohan teased as Acia considered the logical challenges presented to her by this planet.

"Well it's hard to resist, but I don't wanna feed the stereotype," Krillin said, frowning a little at the injustice of it all. "So anyway, what are you guys up to?"

"We're just walking around. I was thinking we might hit the movie theater, see if they got anything interesting playing," Gohan smiled at Acia, who was still staring at Krillin.

"Oh, I see," Krillin waggled his eyebrows suggestively at his young friend, who blushed. "Well I'm happy to see you out of the house. You can't spend all your time studying you know!"

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," Acia said suddenly. It was an Earth-ism Chiaotzu had taught her.

The two men stared at her wide-eyed. _Was it Jack?_ Acia wondered. _Perhaps it was some other male…_

"Exactly!" Krillin said finally, pointing to Acia with his coffee cup. "Listen, I gotta get going, but you should come by sometime. You too," he said, turning to Acia and smiling. "I know Marron would love to see you."

"Sure! That sounds awesome. We could drop by over the weekend?" Gohan turned to Acia, who shrugged noncommittally.

"Okay, great!" Krillin smiled at the two teens as he hopped onto the police hoverbike parked on the side of the road. "I'll see you guys on later. Bye!"

Gohan waved to Krillin as Acia began prodding him with questions about where Krillin lived.

"So, you wanna go see a movie?" Gohan asked after he'd fielded her questions. He was starting to wish he had a little more dating experience. Movies and sparring – that was the extent of his dating rolodex.

"No," she said with finality. "I would like to see more of this city. This is not the same place Bulma took me to purchase clothing."

"Yeah, that would be West City. This is Satan City."

"The city is named after the devil?"

"It's a really long story."

"Good, it will give us something to discuss while we walk."

The two continued on their way as Gohan began to tell her about Cell (skipping, he thought wisely, the part about the Androids and Trunks coming from the future).

Acia had been looking around at the crowded streets and colorful storefronts when she suddenly turned to him, glaring. "I'm not going to run away and blow up a store, you know," she said, interrupting him mid-sentence.

"What?" Gohan's eyes widened with confusion. "Of course not! I don't think you're going to do that!"

"Then why are you holding me?" She looked down to where Gohan had surreptitiously grabbed her hand, then looked back up at him accusingly.

"What? Oh no!" Gohan fumbled for words. "No, I'm not holding you, I'm just, you know, holding…your hand?" He smiled weakly. "It's just a nice gesture, you know, to show that we're…friendly." He scratched the back of his head nervously.

Acia glared at him. Chiaotzu had never held her hand, but then again, Chiaotzu always seemed to be a little afraid of her. Perhaps Gohan was telling the truth.

It wasn't the _most_ unpleasant thing she'd experienced, at least.

"Fine," she said finally, flipping her hair back as she once again turned her attention to the street.

Gohan smiled. _See,_ he said to himself, _all she wants is a little affection._

* * *

The teens had rounded a corner, hand in hand, when Acia came to a screeching halt.

"What is it?" Gohan asked, following her wide-eyed gaze to…

"Oh hey!" he called out, waving. "Hey Buu!"

Acia was clutching at his arm now, her nails digging into the exposed skin under the sleeve of his t-shirt and her body pressed against his side, a horrified expression on her face. "What _is_ that thing?" she hissed into his ear.

Gohan felt a flush creep up onto his face and chided himself – he really shouldn't be enjoying her obvious panic.

"That's just Majin Buu," he said as the large pink creature waved back at them. "Don't worry, he's really nice."

"Hello Gohan!" Buu said happily as he reached them.

"Hey Buu! How are you?"

"Buu very happy!" he said with a wide, ridiculous smile, waving several hundred zeni in the air. It wouldn't be the wisest thing for most people, but the criminals of Satan City knew by now not to try to rob Buu. "Buu buy ice cream today!" Suddenly he turned his attention to Acia, who was still hanging on to Gohan and had unconsciously shifted herself behind him. "Who dis girl?" Buu asked.

"This is Acia, she's my friend." Gohan nudged her. "Say hi," he whispered.

Acia opened her mouth but nothing came out. She was too shocked to form words or thoughts. She'd thought she'd seen everything there was to see in the universe, and then this giant pink _thing_ had come out of nowhere and was radiating so much power she thought she would faint.

"Hello Acia!" Buu said, leaning into her face. "You pretty girl. Buu like you!"

The simple declaration seemed to snap Acia out of the spell she'd been under and she drew herself up, loosening her grip on Gohan slightly. "Yes, well," she heard herself say. "That's very nice."

"You like Buu too?" he asked. Gohan nudged her again.

"Y-yes, I l-like Buu too."

"Yay!" He jumped gleefully. "Buu have new friend! You come with Buu, Buu buy you ice cream!"

"How about it?" Gohan turned to Acia, who was still looking a little pale. "You like ice cream, right?" Acia nodded mechanically. "Alright Buu, lead the way!"

Buu strode purposefully towards the ice cream shop and, once inside, was greeted with cheers by the staff. "Hey!" A man in a paper hat ran up to him from behind the counter. "There's our favorite customer!"

"Hello ice cream man!"

"Would you like the usual?"

"Yes please. And Buu want ice cream for Buu's friends too!" he said, pointing a large gloved finger at the two teens behind him, who had thus far gone unnoticed.

"Coming right up!" The man bounded back behind the counter and began to fill cones enthusiastically.

Acia stared wide-eyed as the man handed Buu a cone filled with seven scoops of ice cream, only to pull out another cone and begin filling it as well. It had to be Buu's – she and Gohan hadn't ordered yet.

"What flavor do you want?" Gohan asked, pulling her out of her trance.

"I want a cone like that!" she said, pointing at Buu's ice cream tower.

"Uh, usually cones only have two or three scoops. Buu's kind of a special case."

"And why is that?" Acia pouted. "He shouldn't even be having ice cream at all, he's fa–"

Gohan clamped his hand down on her mouth before she could finish the word. "Don't call Buu fat!" he whispered in her ear. "It makes him really upset and he won't like you anymore."

Instead of elbowing him in the stomach, which was what he expected, Acia leaned back to whisper to him, "Fine, but I want a cone like his. Just one cone, that's half of what he's having!"

"Alright," he sighed, letting go.

Small children pointed and stared at them as they walked out of the store.

A few minutes later the three of them were sitting on a bench at a small park, happily enjoying their ice cream.

"This is nice," Gohan observed to Acia as she attempted to keep her ice cream tower from falling in a heap on the ground. "You probably didn't get to do this sort of thing too often out in space."

"Well actually, whenever we stopped somewhere we'd usually go out and see what it was like and try the food," she said between licks, ice cream dripping down her chin. Gohan willed himself not to stare.

"What else did you do for fun?"

"Life on a spaceship is very different from here. There isn't really a lot of free time," she said.

"Huh." It occurred to Gohan that he was probably the only friend Acia had ever had who was close to her age. He sighed. _That's one thing we have in common,_ he thought.

Gohan had experienced a sudden surge in popularity in the aftermath of the battle with Majin Buu, in the sense that he officially had three friends, counting Videl. She, Sharpener and Erasa were the only ones from his school who had witnessed the full extent of his power and his abilities, and so he no longer had to walk on eggshells around them. But as it turned out, Videl had been the glue that had held their group together, and once she broke up with him his friendships with Sharpener and Erasa had fizzled out. Erasa had wanted to date him after the split, but it had just seemed wrong to him; Erasa and Videl were supposed to be best friends. So by the time he graduated high school, despite his two-year-long relationship with Videl, he was as friendless as he had been on his very first day of school.

Gohan finished his cone and stretched out his legs, turning to look at Acia and Majin Buu more closely. Both of them were completely engrossed in their cones.

He smiled at the scene. Buu and Acia could not be more different from each other, but watching them enjoy their ice cream together made him more certain than ever that he was doing the right thing. Maybe Piccolo and his father had seen something in her, maybe they hadn't, but either way Gohan wanted to be her friend, an anchor to whatever there was inside her that kept her content.


	24. Chapter 24

Meanwhile, at Capsule Corp., Vegeta was plagued with uncertainty.

He had been angry when Goku had shown up after his reconnaissance mission without the girl, only to explain that he had taken her to _his_ house. He was her uncle, he was her _prince,_ damn it all, and she would be returned to his house immediately!

But Dr. Briefs' comment, that he was being an "overprotective father" towards the girl, had really gotten under his skin, making him hyperaware of just how overwrought he was becoming over his niece. It was because of this that he'd agreed to let Goku take some clothes for her. Although 'agreed' was probably too strong a word. 'Stomped off and did not actively prevent' was a better approximation.

Fatherhood was out of Vegeta's sphere of expertise. He knew that since before even the concept of Trunks had existed, and it had been the primary reason he'd been so hostile to the child when Bulma had first presented him. Vegeta liked to be good at things. Not just good – the best. And if he couldn't be the best at something, then he didn't want to do it.

Now, even with ten years of fatherhood under his belt, the role still made him uncomfortable. It wasn't just that he didn't have the instinct for it, Vegeta also didn't have a _basis_ for it. What was fatherhood supposed to entail anyhow? What was a father supposed to _be_? His time with his own father had been limited. His memories with the king involved instructions on how to behave as the prince of all Saiyans, how to train, improve, live up to the ancient legend of his people. They didn't "hang out," the way Trunks wanted to so often, wiling away time playing silly games and eating junk food. And he had certainly never sought out his father for advice on social situations and friendships, inasmuch as Vegeta had ever really had those.

Unclehood was an even stranger territory. He knew, in a vague sort of way, that he'd had an aunt, a woman cloudy in his mind's eye, a peripheral figure in distant memories of unnamed royal occasions. Her very name escaped him. This was all he had to draw upon when it came to the nature of his relationship with the girl.

But her presence was raising…issues he hadn't ever really considered before. Something in his blood was telling him to keep her where he could see her, and the longer she was away the more the instinct itched at him.

Of course, what his instincts _could_ be trying to tell him was that Kakarot was an incompetent fool who was barely qualified to take care of his own children, let alone anyone else's, and that left with him the girl was probably already up to no good. The last time she'd been without proper supervision she'd tried to steal a spaceship! Gods only knew what she was planning now!

Yes, he reasoned, yes, that was it. That was all it was.

He made his way up the stairs to the bedroom he shared with his wife, pausing for a moment at the door, his hand resting on the knob as he considered what, if anything, he should say to her.

That was another unexpected consequence of his life on Earth. He'd told himself, long ago, that his marriage to Bulma was one of convenience, that it was for Trunks – both versions of the boy – but that had never been true. Bulma could read his mind and mood since practically the first day he had taken up residence at her house, and that was something he had never planned on.

Steeling himself, he opened the door and walked in.

Bulma was sitting propped against the pillows on the bed, drinking cocoa and watching television. "Well, well, well," she said, turning to him as he sat on the edge of the bed, his back to her. "If it isn't Uncle of the Year!"

"Bulma…"

"Seriously Vegeta, what the hell has gotten into you lately? Are you really _that_ worried about Acia, or is this another one of those 'I hate Kakarot' things again?"

Slowly, Vegeta lifted himself into bed next to his wife. "Bulma, how do you know Trunks is your son?"

Bulma raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, 'how'? I gave birth to him!"

"In a hospital where, I understand, several hundred other women were also giving birth. If the doctors had taken the boy and then returned another child, with the same features, the same hair, would you know he wasn't your child?"

"Vegeta," Bulma huffed, reaching back to place the mug on her nightstand, "what the hell are you on about?"

"I would know," he said simply.

"What?"

"I would know he wasn't our son."

Bulma sat up further in the bed, twisting herself to face Vegeta, who was lying half-propped against the pillows, his eyes focused on the ceiling. She said nothing, watching his face intently, waiting for him to elaborate.

"You know that we Saiyans have heightened senses compared to humans," he began. "Scent is one of the ways we recognize each other."

"I know that already, Vegeta."

"I know you know." He turned his eyes towards her, brows furrowing in annoyance. "When a child is born," he continued, "they smell mostly of their mother, as you can imagine, due to the process of labor and birth. The mother's scent," he paused, searching for a word that would best describe what he was trying to say, "imprints on the child, so that after it fades away completely an element of it remains in the child's own, personal scent."

"Okaaaaay…"

"Siblings," he cleared his throat awkwardly, refocusing his gaze away from his wife's searching eyes, "can…use that imprint to recognize each other."

"Oh!" Bulma leaned over him, smirking slightly. "And let me guess, so can, say, uncles and nieces?"

Vegeta sighed wearily. There had been a time, not too long ago, where all his personal enjoyment that didn't come from training and food came from arguing with the blue-haired woman lying next to him. The witty banter, the insults, even the yelling was all part of that weird, hot, inexplicable chemistry the two had. It was all still there, even now, but sometimes it was just nice to have a normal conversation like normal people.

Or maybe he was just getting old.

Vegeta rolled over to face her, but couldn't stop himself from teasing, "You really think you're a genius, don't you?"

"You know it buster!" Bulma gave him her best look of smug self-satisfaction. "So that's what this is, then? Some special Saiyan instinct kicking in?"

"I believe so."

"So," Bulma leaned in closer, her hand resting against her husband's head, "how come you didn't recognize Trunks when he came from the future?"

"We weren't mates then," Vegeta replied. "There was nothing to recognize."

"I see. You recognize the mother, not the father."

"Correct."

Bulma was quiet for a moment as she ran the information through her head. "Your sister…"

Vegeta said nothing, but his dark gaze never left hers.

"What does this mean exactly Vegeta?"

"I don't know. Most likely, it means nothing. She'll be gone soon anyway."

"Will she?"

Vegeta's expression darkened, and he rolled away from her.

Bulma placed a hand on his shoulder gently. "Do you want her to come back here?"

"It's for the best. If she's planning another escape Kakarot won't be able to stop her. And I haven't forgotten the stunt she pulled. If she things she can defy my orders and get away with it, she is sorely mistaken."

"Yeah, okay Vegeta." Bulma lowered herself into the pillows, pushing up against the solid wall that was her husband's back. "Let's go with that."

* * *

"She does not need to be coddled Kakarot!" Vegeta was yelling – why couldn't the damn idiot just do what he was told for once in his life?! "She needs to be _punished!"_ Flogged, preferably, although it was a long shot.

Goku grinned at his friend's angry face. He'd known this confrontation was coming when he offered to bring Chi Chi and Goten over to Capsule Corp., and in any case the prince's temper tantrums never really fazed him. "Why don't we talk to her about this first?" he suggested. "You know, see how she feels about it?"

"She does _not_ get a say in this!"

"I think Vegeta's right, Goku," Chi Chi said. Her conversation with her husband had eased her concerns somewhat, but still, the sooner the girl was out of her house the easier she would sleep. "She's his niece; if she's going to stay anywhere it should be with him."

"Well, she's my niece too…"

"SHE IS NOT YOUR NIECE!"

Bulma sighed into her coffee cup. For all she was worried about her husband running off to face threat after threat, what would probably end up killing him was medical complications resulting from high blood pressure.

"Okay, okay! Just relax buddy!" Goku said, holding up his hands in surrender. "Just give me some time to talk to her. A day! Just one day!" he said as Vegeta's face contorted into an even deeper scowl. "Promise!"

"One day, Kakarot." Vegeta breathed menacingly. "One day. Or I'll come to your house and drag her back here myself."

* * *

"Acia?"

The girl turned over in bed – Gohan's bed – and sighed loudly. At least when she went back to Capsule Corp. she would get a good night's sleep. Goten seemed to want to have his most philosophical discussions at night.

"Are you going to miss me when you go back to Trunks' house?" Goten asked, looking at her expectantly.

Acia smiled in spite of herself. Goten's need to be liked was pathetic, but it was also kind of adorable. "Yes."

Goten's face split into a wide smile. "Really?! Does that mean you like it here better than there?"

"Yes." A lie, but fairly innocent compared to others she'd told over the years.

In truth, Acia had mixed feelings about her return to Capsule Corporation, although she'd taken the news as stoically as possible. It was, of course, inevitable – Chi Chi hadn't even bothered to hide her glee when she informed her that Vegeta was _demanding_ she return to 'face the music,' as she'd said. And while Acia still didn't care what Chi Chi thought of her, it would be nice to not have a woman staring daggers into her every time she walked into a room. Certainly life at Capsule Corp. was more stimulating than life at Mt. Paozu, and she was looking forward to returning to the lab and training with Bulla and Marron.

On the other hand, she could only imagine what her uncle had in store for her. When she misbehaved when she was a child, her father would lock her inside a small room, barely a few square feet large, for what seemed like a lifetime. In that tiny space she would go wild with frustration, her _ki_ spiking erratically and her power literally bouncing off the walls. Occasionally he'd hit her – not particularly hard, since Finn always objected loudly to this form of discipline.

Vegeta struck her as significantly more sadistic than her father.

Then there was Gohan. Acia rolled over again. His scent was totally infused into the bed and she inhaled it with every breath. It had made it difficult to sleep the first couple days she spent here, and she wondered now if that was what had driven her to grab him that afternoon by the riverside.

It had been one of those strange impulsive moments that had started to overtake her ever since she'd hit puberty at 15 years old (finally passing the five-inch mark, a highlight of her life). That, and curiosity. She had just wanted to know what it felt like, what all the hype was about, and Gohan was there and, if not willing, at least not _unwilling._ Could you blame her?

It was true, she admitted, that the time she spent with him was enjoyable. But it was also true that Gohan was a complication in her life on this planet – he could make it much more difficult than it had been. He seemed to expect something from her, and Acia couldn't imagine what that could be.

Acia's parents had never given her the 'actions have consequences' speech that is a staple in the lives of so many teenagers across the galaxy. She'd gotten it from everyone else – DeeDee, Finn, Quaorin, even Bain, after one particularly memorable occasion when she'd hidden under his bed to try to see him naked. He'd caught her immediately, much to her dismay. But her parents had never once given her that lecture, even when they punished her for something she'd done. They knew she could only ever learn the hard way.

Although the more she thought about it, the more Gohan didn't seem like such a terrible consequence. He was universally adored and trusted by her uncle's friends; her uncle himself wasn't as caustic to him as he was to others. That could be useful to her. How she wasn't exactly sure, but if anyone could find a way to exploit the situation it was her.

And even if he proved entirely useless, she could still spend time with him. Even if she was right and he wanted something more from her, well then…

 _We'll get there when we get there._

She fell asleep to the sound of Goten's deep breathing.

Sometimes, not even the hard way is enough.


	25. Chapter 25

The day after Goku returned from Capsule Corp with the news that Vegeta was demanding Acia return to Capsule Corp., Gohan found himself uncharacteristically distracted. He sat in the back row of his classes, mind wandering as his professors droned on.

Vegeta didn't seem to like his niece very much, but Gohan had a feeling that the prince would have a problem with her dating his rival's son. And he couldn't _stop_ seeing her, now that she was finally warming up to him.

 _Acia's in a vulnerable place right now,_ he thought. _I can't abandon her when she needs a friend most._

Although if he was being completely honest with himself, he was hoping to be more than just a friend to her.

Gohan felt his face flush at the thought, chemistry equations blurring in front of him. There was no point in denying it anymore – he was attracted to her. Even before their encounter at the riverbank, and _especially_ since, he'd found himself thinking about her more and more, imaging what it would be like to hold her, kiss her…do other things…

His face turned a deeper shade of red.

Was it so strange? She was beautiful. And she liked him…in a way.

Didn't she?

Yeah, she did, he assured himself. She let him hold her hand! And she was smiling at him more, Gohan was certain.

Gohan sighed wearily. His class was ending and he hadn't heard a word the professor said.

He needed to figure out exactly what was going on between them.

* * *

"Gohan." Piccolo was meditating near the edge of the Lookout when he sensed his protégé land on the tiled floors.

Gohan smiled, approaching him. "Hi Piccolo. How are you?"

Piccolo opened his eyes, turning slowly to meet the smiling face of the young demi-Saiyan. "I'm well. How are you? It's been some time since you've visited."

"Sorry, I'm just really busy at university, heh," Gohan lied, his hand reaching to the back of his head instinctively.

Piccolo smirked.

"So, uh…what's going on around here?" Gohan asked as casually as he could manage.

"Well, I was meditating before you interrupted me," Piccolo replied, knowing full well what Gohan was getting at – they didn't call it the Lookout for nothing. "Mr. Popo is taking care of his flowers, as you can see," he motioned towards the caretaker with his head. "Dende is inside with Chiaotzu. I believe," Piccolo said slowly, wanting to drag out the young man's torture as long as possible, "they are training with Acia."

"Oh, okay! Well, uh, I'll just go say hello." Gohan was blushing now. "To Dende! I'll go say hi to Dende. And everyone else, obviously."

As Piccolo watched him run off, Mr. Popo appeared beside him. "Ah, young people," he said. "I don't understand it myself, but it's quite amusing to watch nevertheless."

Piccolo rolled his eyes. "I'm not happy about this."

Mr. Popo shrugged. "Oh well."

Inside, Acia and Chiaotzu were locked in a battle of wills. The two were standing about 25 feet from each other, each powered up and staring down the other. Acia stood with her arms stretched out and her palms forward, brows furrowed and teeth clenched in concentration. Across from her, Chiaotzu was bobbing in the air, fists clenched, his focus completely on the young Saiyan trying to force him higher into the air.

"Stop trying to get in my head!" Chiaotzu yelled at her. "That's cheating!"

Acia merely grunted in response. She couldn't help it; it was instinctive with her to try manipulate the mind of her opponent. But Chiaotzu wasn't giving her an inch, blocking every attempt to even enter his mind, let alone control it.

Gohan stood near the doorway, watching in quiet fascination as their energies crackled throughout the palace. Dende, who had been sitting nearby, came to his side and smiled up at him. "It's nice to see you again Gohan."

Gohan returned the smile. "Hey Dende!" The two friends returned their attention to the silent fight going on in front of them. Acia had moved Chiaotzu up about an inch, and now the small human was resisting her attempts even harder.

"Perhaps you guys could take a break?" Dende called out.

"No! No breaks!" Acia yelled back through gritted teeth, her eyes never leaving her opponent.

"But Gohan is here," Dende said.

"So?! He can wait!"

"I wouldn't mind a break actually," Chiaotzu said.

Suddenly Acia roared in frustration, letting go of Chiaotzu and using her telekinetic powers to launch a chair across the room, breaking it into several pieces. Then she slumped to the floor, hands digging furiously into her scalp.

"Acia," Dende said gently as he sat beside her on the floor, resting a palm on her shoulder. "Come now, you mustn't get so upset. Look, Gohan's here!" he said, pointing to the young man standing behind him and looking over the girl in concern. "Here, I'll go get you two something to eat." The Namekian began to make his way to the kitchen when he noticed that Chiaotzu was still standing with the teens, patting Acia paternally on the head.

"Chiaotzu! Could you come help me in the kitchen please?"

"Huh? Oh, okay, sure!"

Gohan gave his friend a grateful smile as the two exited, leaving him alone with Acia.

"Are you okay?" Gohan asked, lowering himself to the floor beside her.

"I'm _fine,_ " she said tersely, head in her hands. She took a deep breath, then said more calmly, "I've been working on this technique for months. It's very difficult to master."

"Well, what you've done so far is really impressive. It took years for Chiaotzu to master all these psychic techniques."

Acia sighed heavily. Finally, she looked up at him. "Why are you here? Are you not normally at your school at this time?"

"I…kinda skipped class," Gohan said, smiling sheepishly. "I thought maybe we could hang out? Since you'll be leaving soon?"

"Leaving?" Acia's eyes widened. _What is he talking about? He can't possibly know…_

"Going back to Capsule Corp., I mean."

"Oh."

"I-I don't know if you want to tell Vegeta that we're seeing each other, or…"

"NO!" Acia sat up, eyes wide with sudden panic.

"Yeah, I figured you wouldn't want to.'

"No, you don't understand," she said, grabbing his forearms tightly. "We cannot tell anyone about our date."

"Wha-what?" Confusion clouded Gohan's face. "You don't want to tell anyone at all? Why not?"

Acia opened her mouth to respond, but found herself lost for words. In truth she didn't know why she didn't want anyone to know what she and Gohan were up to, but her gut told her they needed to keep this a secret. Gohan was sucking her deeper into life on Earth, but if their relationship stayed between them, she could limit the damage.

"Just don't tell anyone. Please? It's better this way."

Gohan's lips pursed as he considered this. He wasn't used to keeping secrets and didn't think he was particularly good at it – Bulma must have told him about a hundred times what a bad liar he was, and his mother could practically smell it when he was withholding information.

 _This is all new for her though,_ he thought. _Maybe she's confused, or scared of how she's feeling._

"O-okay. I mean, eventually we'll have to tell people, but for now, if it makes you feel better, it'll be our secret."

Acia loosened her grip on him, her face relaxing with relief.

Smiling again, Gohan gently reached up to move her bangs from her face. "I'm sorry we can't hang out at Krillin's this weekend." _Her hair is so soft…_

Acia flinched slightly at the unexpected contact. "I-It's fine."

"I'll come visit you at Bulma's place," he said, misinterpreting the expression of discomfort on her face. "Every day, if you want me to."

Acia frowned a little. "No, that's not a good idea. It will look strange."

"We'll just say we're two friends hanging out," Gohan said. "It's not that strange. You've been staying at my house for a week now, and you're already friends with Goten."

Acia paused for a moment. "I don't think my uncle will be pleased with this."

"I'll talk to Vegeta," Gohan said. "I think he likes me!"

That made Acia burst into laughter, and her laugh made Gohan smile again.

 _Oh, he is too much fun,_ she thought.

* * *

It was Goku who escorted Acia to Capsule Corp. the next day, training with her and Piccolo at the Lookout before making his way to the domed building outside West City late in the afternoon. Vegeta was waiting for them in the family room when they arrived. His face was expressionless, but his dark gaze did not waver from his niece as the two Saiyans entered, Bulma following close behind.

"Vegeta," Goku said, seemingly oblivious to the heavy tension in the air, "Acia has something she'd like to say to you." He waggled his eyebrows at the girl – they'd rehearsed this at the Lookout.

Reluctantly, Acia stepped forward to address her uncle, "Prince Vegeta, I apologize for leaving the house without permis…"

Vegeta slammed a fist into the coffee table in front of him, sending an ornate vase flying up and across the room. "If you think for one second," he growled, "that your pathetic apology will suffice…"

"Vegeta!" Goku interrupted.

"That is ENOUGH!" He was standing now, and in two strides he was in Goku's face. "Get the hell out of my house Kakarot. You," he spat, turning to his niece, "go to your room. I'll deal with you later."

Acia made a face. She'd known this apology Goku had been so insistent on was not going to get them anywhere.

Goku crossed his arms, matching Vegeta's glare. "I'm not going anywhere until you calm down."

Vegeta's _ki_ spiked and he raised his hand as thought about to strike, but Bulma caught his wrist firmly. "I think we _all_ need to deal with this, together." Her bright blue eyes were steely with resolve, meeting his own firmly. The two stood like that for a moment, in a private battle of wills, before Vegeta finally caved. Wrenching his wrist from his wife's grasp, he turned on his niece, grabbing her by the top of her hair and pulling her forwards till she was inches from him.

Acia winced at the pain but made no sound. She would take her punishment without protest, like a Saiyan.

"You," he hissed at her. "The hell do you think you're playing at, girl?"

"Vegeta, stop it," Goku said calmly, frowning at his rough treatment of the teenager. He knew she could take it, but it didn't make it any easier to watch. "She didn't know the full moon was out, and we both know that."

"I hope you enjoyed your little vacation at Kakarot's," Vegeta continued, ignoring his former rival, "because you won't be leaving this house again." He shot a look at his wife, who was giving him an incomprehensible look, "Do you have anything to add?"

"Let her go, Vegeta," Bulma said, annoyed.

Slowly, Vegeta released his grip on his niece. She was a very lucky girl to be getting off so easily – if he wasn't surrounded by these soft-hearted idiots, things would have gone very differently for her.

"Listen," Bulma said, addressing Acia now, "we need you to understand that your behavior over the last few weeks has been unacceptable. First you left without permission and without telling anyone – that could have been dangerous enough even without the full moon. What if you'd gotten hurt, or someone attacked you? I know you Saiyans think you're invincible," Bulma said sarcastically, catching the incredulous expression on Acia's face, "but you're _not_. And then," her voice was rising now; this was what she was _really_ upset about, "you tried to sneak in here and steal a spaceship! Do you have any idea how hard my dad and I worked on those? How much _money_ they cost us to build?! And where the hell were you going to go anyway?"

"You need to stay here, Acia," Goku said firmly. "No running off again, okay?"

Acia focused her gaze on the carpet.

"You're grounded, by the way," Bulma added. Vegeta shook his head in disgust.

"Grounded?" she repeated. The term was unfamiliar.

"It means you can't leave the house. Probably for a month – two months," Bulma amended, catching the threatening way Vegeta's eye was starting to twitch, "then we'll see. If you're good, things can go back to the way they were before. Alright?"

Acia nodded quietly. As far as she was concerned, Bulma could punish her in whatever way she wanted. If any of them thought she was really going to stay locked up in this house or on this planet like a prisoner, they had another thing coming. All she needed was a few days of quiet, and she would have the perfect getaway plan.

* * *

Later that evening, as Acia was preparing for bed, Vegeta entered her room unannounced.

 _Oh gods, now what?_ She had been sitting on the edge of her bed, folding the clothes she'd brought back from Mt. Paouzu. Now she set the last shirt aside, focusing her attention on the man radiating tension in front of her.

"What are you doing?"

"Wh-What?" This she had not been expecting.

"What," Vegeta repeated, louder and with significantly less patience, "are you doing?"

Acia sat there with her mouth open, unsure of how to respond. "I-I just, I was going to go to sleep…"

Vegeta considered her for a moment. Either she was an idiot, or she was a _very_ good liar.

"Your mother," he began again, "what did she tell you, about your time here?"

Acia shrugged. "She told me I was to stay here until she and my father returned, that it would be three months at most." She paused for a moment, considering where he might be going with this, then sighed. "She told me to obey you, that you were the prince and I was to do what I was told until and not cause you any trouble. I'm _sorry,_ " she was glaring down at the carpet now – this was just humiliating – "I wasn't lying when I said I didn't know the moon was out. I don't even like transforming, it feels awful afterwards."

Vegeta stood silently throughout this admission. It wasn't what he had been fishing for, but he was willing to accept it. For now.

He left her without a word.

When he was gone, Acia lay down on her side and let her mind wander. How long had she been here now? More than three months by Earth time, that was for sure. And her parents had yet to return.

She had to get out of here, fast.

 **A/N: This chapter is meant to set up the direction of the story going forward. The next few chapters should be much more action-packed, so please stay tuned! And thank you for all the reviews and feedback you've given me so far. Please keep them coming! It really helps when I write.**


	26. Chapter 26

It didn't take long for Acia to realize that Bulma, while genuinely terrifying when on the warpath, was not a great disciplinarian. Two weeks into her grounding, Acia was free to wander around the Capsule Corp. compound without protest from Bulma or her parents, who still thought Vegeta was making an unnecessary fuss about the whole thing. Vegeta himself was either locked inside the Gravity Room or outside sparring with Goku in the middle of nowhere, and as far as she could tell was unaware that she was roaming free, relatively speaking.

Still, her social interaction was now entirely limited to the Briefs, barring random drop-ins from Goku. He was the only one who had the balls, quite frankly, to visit her despite Vegeta's ban. Chiaotzu had sent her a few telepathic messages, checking on her and saying he was sorry he couldn't visit. Piccolo had sent her just one: _"Keep training,"_ he said. " _I'll be testing you when you get back."_

With Vegeta out training, Bulla at school, Bulma holed up in her lab most of the day, and Dr. and Mrs. Briefs doing gods knew what, this meant that Acia was largely left with Trunks. At first, the boy had seemed genuinely pleased that she was back, but the two cousins just rubbed each other the wrong way. It wasn't long before they were at each other's throats.

Trunks, frankly, was getting suspicious of his cousin. After the spaceship incident, he knew his father didn't trust her not to try something like that again, so the boy had taken it upon himself to keep an eye on the wayward girl. And he didn't like what he was seeing.

She was quiet. Too quiet. At first Trunks thought maybe she was just upset about being grounded. After, all, Acia had never been much of a talker to begin with. This, though, this was a different kind of quiet. This was the kind of quiet you got when you were deep in thought.

As if that wasn't enough, Trunks had sensed her in the lab one afternoon when his mother had been at a business meeting. Acia wasn't allowed in the labs anymore, at least not while she was still grounded. He'd rushed down to confront her, but in his hurry he'd forgotten to suppress his _ki,_ and by the time he got there she was gone. A few days later, he overheard her talking to his grandmother about his father's first few years at Capsule Corp., and _then_ he could have sworn he saw her coming of out of the guestroom his father had once used.

Acia was up to something, Trunks knew it. But he was no hothead. No, the ten-year-old resolved, he was going to bide his time and watch her like a hawk until he uncovered whatever it was she was planning.

And then he'd beat that stupid girl up.

* * *

Acia was looking for her scouter.

Bulma had softened over the two weeks Acia had spent locked up in her room, but the scientist wasn't going to let her near the labs anytime soon, that was clear. It didn't matter anyway, Acia fumed as she paced up and down her room. She clearly didn't know half of what was going on at Capsule Corp.; it had never occurred to her that they would have motion sensors in the warehouses, or that the spaceships would require a special access code. Who knew what else was in there? Lasers. Automated _ki_ guns programed to fire at intruders. Who knew, with Bulma Briefs?

 _Damn her!_ Acia thought. _She's a lot tougher than she looks, I'll give her that._

Time for Plan B.

So far, Plan B consisted mostly of Acia getting her scouter back. If she could get it to work again, she could call someone to come get her, or better yet, summon her pod from off her parents' ship…

Assuming her parents still had a ship…

Acia shook her head violently, as though hoping to physically dislodge the treacherous thought from her head. _Of course_ her parents still had their ship. They were _fine._ They were a little late, that was true. But that didn't have to mean anything.

 _It means nothing,_ she thought firmly.

How to find the scouter, though, that was the problem. The most obvious place to look was Bulma's lab. Acia had seen a functioning scouter there before, and given the woman's insatiable curiosity over anything Saiyan-related, it was a safe bet that she had the device stuffed in one of her drawers.

Acia had been so convinced of this she'd risked potential _ki_ guns to break into the lab and get it. She'd barely had ten minutes to look before she'd sensed Trunks coming at her at lightning speed and was forced to abandon her search.

The meddling brat had been following her every move since. What was _wrong_ with him? How could a child so young and sheltered be so paranoid?

As far as Acia knew the scouter was still in the lab somewhere, hiding behind the piles of paper and mounds of mechanical parts that littered Bulma's workspaces. If only the woman were neater, Acia would have found the thing.

With Trunks on her tail, Acia had decided not to risk another lab break-in. Instead, she turned her attention to her uncle. He'd taken the scouter, so it was likely that he was the one who'd hidden it. She'd scoured the compound as discreetly as she could manage, prying information from Bulma's parents about where Vegeta liked to spend his time. The gravity room was the most obvious place, but a conversation with Dr. Briefs convinced her that it would be a poor hiding place. Then she'd searched his old room with no luck – the place was spotless.

All that was left now was to look in the bedroom he was currently using, the room he shared with Bulma.

Acia chewed on her lip nervously. Of all the places that were dangerous to break into in this house, that was the one she truly couldn't risk. There probably weren't any cameras or lasers set up in there, although clearly with Bulma you could never be too sure. But her uncle would pick up her scent in the room if she touched anything. There would be no way to hide it from him.

Yet the more she thought about it, the more Acia felt sure that the scouter was hidden in that room. Vegeta had taken the scouter from her. Bulma was obsessed with all things tech, especially if they came from space. This was the one place the two shared.

And it was the one place she couldn't go.

 _Damn, they're good._

A sudden rapping sound made Acia practically jump out of her skin – she'd been so deep in thought she'd be oblivious to her surroundings. Looking around wildly for the source of this intrusive noise, she caught sight of a dark-haired young man hovering at her window.

Gohan.

He was waving at her, gesturing for her to open the window and let him in.

Acia felt her heart clench uncomfortably in a strange concoction of anticipation and dread as she made her way to the window and unlatched it. Truth be told, in her single-minded search for her scouter she'd almost forgotten about the half-Saiyan.

And now he was climbing into her room in what she guessed were his school clothes – beige trousers and a plain black long-sleeved shirt.

"Hey!" Gohan offered once he was inside, a nervous smile on his face.

Acia stared at him, her mouth parted slightly as her brain tried to put together all the potential reasons behind this unorthodox visit.

"What are you doing here?" she finally asked.

Gohan's face fell. She was angry at him. Of course she was. He'd wanted to call, to come and see her, but Vegeta had come to their house the day after she'd gone back to Capsule Corp. and had a huge fight with his father. It was clear that he wanted Acia under lock and key for the foreseeable future, and he wasn't willing to concede a single point in her favor. Gohan had frankly been too afraid to suggest the idea of a friendly visit to the irate prince. Since Buu, he wasn't sure who would win if he were to face Vegeta, and he would rather find out in less tense circumstances.

It had taken him a while to work up the nerve to sneak over to Capsule Corp. while Vegeta was sparring with his dad in the mountains, leaving the coast clear. But still, he had promised that he would see her all the time, and instead he'd abandoned her for two whole weeks. Gods, he was a terrible person. He'd offered her affection only to take it away at the time she needed it most! He wouldn't be surprised if she hated him.

"Look, I – I'm really sorry," he said. "Vegeta came over and he was just so mad…are you okay?"

Acia blinked back at him. That didn't answer her question at all. "I'm fine," she shrugged.

"Are you sure? You're not mad at me?" Gohan was looking down into her face, concern etched in his own.

"…No." _Should I be?_ "Seriously, why are you here?"

"Well," Gohan smiled, "Vegeta's out training with my dad, so I thought I could sneak over and see how you're doing."

"I'm fine," she repeated.

"Are you sure?" Gohan asked. "My dad said you've been pretty much stuck in your room since you got here."

Acia shook her head. "It's not really that bad. I can do what I like so long as my uncle is away. Bulma doesn't mind, and her parents hardly notice."

"Well that's good."

The two teens stood in front of each other in an awkward silence, each trying to figure out what the other was thinking and feeling. Suddenly, Gohan stepped forward, his arms spread out, and took her into a hug. He lowered one hand to her lower back, just above her tail, and began to rub her back in slow circles.

Acia stood rigid in his embrace, her brain short-circuiting as it tried to make sense of what was going on. The last time she'd been held like was when she'd first been brought to Capsule Corp., when her father had suddenly grabbed her just before he left. The time before _that,_ she'd been a child. This was just so out of her sphere of experience, she simply had no reference point that would allow her to form a reaction.

Although she had to admit, Gohan was pleasantly warm. Slowly, she found her head bending forward, resting against his chest, her tail unfurling from around her waist almost with a will of its own, lifting up and curling against the hand holding her shoulder.

At the furry touch, Gohan released her shoulder and ran his fingers against her tail, slowly sweeping his hand upward until his palm was resting against the tip.

Acia pulled back and looked up to find him smiling.

"I miss having one of these," he said.

Acia grinned back, pushing her tail against his hand. "How old were you when you lost it?"

"Five. My dad didn't want to risk me transforming, so he asked Krillin to take me to the Lookout to have it removed."

The two stood against each other, watching Acia's tail move against Gohan's fingertips. After a few moments, Acia said, "You know, I lost my tail once."

"In a fight?"

"No." Her face reddened a little – this was an embarrassing story, but she suddenly felt moved to tell it. "It was after the fight. On this planet, I don't remember what it was called." She leaned against Gohan again. "I'd gotten in some mud, so I went into a nearby lake to clean off. This giant fish thing with huge teeth came out of nowhere while I was splashing in the water and bit my tail off."

"Oh wow, that's awful!" Gohan exclaimed, his face contorting in horror.

Acia nodded. "It was the most painful thing I'd ever experienced at that point. But I wanted to tell you," she looked up at him, "because my father was very upset about it, naturally. I still had a part of my tail, but not enough for me to transform, and he had just started to train me to control the Oozaru form. I was only ten when it happened, so it would've grown back eventually. But my father didn't want to wait, so he used this special technique he invented to grow it back faster."

Curiosity piqued, Gohan asked, "What kind of technique?"

"You said you saw the healing pods on Namek, right?" Gohan nodded. "Well, my father noticed early on in his time in Frieza's army that the healing pods would fix any injury except a lost tail, even though they were equipped with Saiyan DNA. He did a lot of research on it, and he found that tail growth is stimulated by a unique hormone. As children, Saiyans produce small amounts of this hormone continually, so that their tails continue to grow while they do," Acia explained. "But in high pressure situations, the hormone is produced in huge amounts, resulting in almost instantaneous tail growth. My father figured he could induce tail growth by synthesizing the hormone and then putting the person in a high pressure situation."

"So he used that theory to grow your tail back?"

"It wasn't a theory by then. He'd tried it before back on Planet Vegeta, although that was a long time ago."

"And it worked?" Gohan asked skeptically.

Acia rubbed her tail playfully against his palm by way of an answer.

"Wow, your dad's really something." Gohan paused for a moment. "What sort of situation did he put you in?"

"It wasn't really a situation. He just jammed his elbow into the base of my tail. It was very painful, of course, but that pain triggered the hormone's activation."

Gohan nodded slowly. "So, you think he could use that technique to grow my tail back?"

"I don't see why not."

Gohan considered the offer. It was a lot to take in so suddenly. He did miss his tail – when he was younger, he'd read about phantom limb syndrome and realized it was a perfect explanation for how he felt. Sometimes, he could feel his tail wagging behind him or drooping between his legs. It would be wonderful, he knew instinctively, to have it back.

And yet it was a big change to make. He hadn't fully understood, when he was a child, why he had to have it removed, only that something bad might happen to him if he didn't. But now that he fully understood the risks, could he take the chance that he might transform, even if on accident, and destroy everything he loved so much, everything he had fought so hard to protect? He'd never been trained to control the Oozaru form. He'd spent so long, too, without his tail. Would his body adjust to having it back?

Before Gohan could express any of these thoughts, Acia reached down with one hand and dug her fingers into the large, round, protruding scar that was all that was left of his tail.


	27. Chapter 27

"Aaaahhhhhh!" Gohan squealed, gripping the back of her t-shirt in response.

Acia giggled, quickly letting go of the tender spot.

Gohan's heart was beating fast, his face flushed red with pain, panic bubbling in his stomach. He knew that scar was still sensitive – he was always careful not to scrub it too hard in the shower – but he'd never imagined it could hurt so bad. And all she'd done was press her fingers against it! He couldn't imagine how bad it would be to have someone's elbow jammed into it.

As Gohan tried to catch his breath, Acia sat cross-legged on the bed, still giggling at the bewildered expression on his face. She knew it hurt, but that was sort of the point. If he was going to be serious about growing his tail back, he should know what he was getting into.

And it was just fun to mess with him.

Pain subsiding, Gohan's panic gave way to anger. "That wasn't very nice, Acia! It really hurt."

"Oh boo hoo," Acia teased. "A Super Saiyan like you can take a little pain."

In a second Gohan was standing in front of her, glaring, his _ki_ raised. Suddenly, Acia felt that she'd pushed him a little too far. She'd never seen him look like that before, like he was truly angry, like he wanted revenge. The smile fell from her face and her shoulders tensed, hands gripping the blanket beneath her as she prepared for the punishment he would mete out.

 _Well,_ she said to herself, _I said I wanted to push him to his breaking point…_

But Gohan was relenting at the sight of her wary face. His own expression relaxed, and he sighed a little. "It must have been really bad when your dad grew your tail back."

 _What?!_

"You-you're not angry anymore," she said, stunned.

Gohan shrugged. "You weren't trying to hurt me."

"Yes I was!" Acia pushed herself up in one movement to stand practically nose-to-nose with the taller teen, her eyes burning with rage and frustration. Hands balled into fists, she punched him viciously in the chest, forcing him to step back, his mouth open in shock.

"Acia…"

"What's wrong with you?!" Acia was practically screaming now – fortunately Trunks was at the Son's and Bulma was buried deep in her lab, so there was no one to come investigate. "How _dare you_ treat me this way?"

"Wha-Acia, I don't understand…."

 _"Like a child!"_ She punched him again, harder. "I am not a child!"

"Acia, stop it!" Gohan grabbed her wrists as she punched again, widening his stance to steady himself against her. "What's gotten into you?!"

Acia attempted to jerk her wrists from him. "Let me go," she said from between gritted teeth.

"Acia, I'm not trying to treat you like a child," Gohan said, tightening his grip on her wrists and looking directly into her eyes. "I'm just being nice!"

The two teenagers stood there, between the bed and the wall, so close they were almost pressed together. Arms held out as Gohan maintained his grip on Acia's wrists, his head tilted down to look at her while she looked up, eyes roaming his open, honest face.

Time seemed slower through the face-off. Seconds passed by like hours.

There was silence.

"Why?" Her voice, skeptical, angry, cut through the silence like a steel knife.

"I-I like you." His voice, soft, bewildered, blew through her hair like the cool breeze coming from the open window.

"I'm not nice to you."

Slowly, Gohan released her. "I don't treat people based on how they treat me. I treat them based on how I want them to treat me." He smiled. "Besides, you're not so bad."

Acia crossed her arms slowly, her gaze unblinking and suspicious. "I've killed people."

Gohan sighed, his smile faltering. "I know."

"I've stolen things. I stole a spaceship once before. I don't regret it either. It was fun."

"O-okay…"

"And easy. I could do it again. I _would_ do it again, if it weren't for your father and Bulma."

Gohan's shoulders slumped under the weight of these confessions. "That's not good."

But Acia wasn't done. "I hurt Trunks…"

"What?" Gohan's brows furrowed.

Acia bit her lip. She shouldn't have said that. "I-I threw a pitcher of lemonade at him yesterday." This at least was true, although Trunks had managed to dodge the flying jug and then turned on her like a spinning top.

Gohan grinned. "You could try to be a bit more patient with him. He's just a kid."

Acia rolled her eyes. She'd heard that one before, and the more time she spent with her cousin the more she suspected he was possessed by some kind of demon. Turning away from her one-time date, she returned to the bed with a huff. "You should have a nice girl to like, Gohan."

"I did like a nice girl." Gohan moved to join her on the bed. "Two years ago, I was dating a girl, and she was very nice. She was smart and a good fighter, and I-I liked her a lot."

Acia sat up straighter, her attention captured by what was clearly a personal, intimate story. "What happened to her?"

Gohan rubbed his eyes. "Do you remember the story I told you on our first date? About Cell?" Acia nodded. "She was the daughter of the man who said he defeated Cell. Her father became very rich and very famous after that, and when she learned the truth, that I was the one who defeated Cell, it-it just,' he paused, sighing again. "It sat between us.

"It wasn't so bad at first. She was so fascinated by me being Saiyan and flying and, you know, all of it. But over time I think it became harder for her to accept that she had been living a lie for so long. Even though I told her I never wanted the money or the recognition." He scratched his head. "Somehow I think that made it worse. And her dad was always a joke to, you know, Vegeta and Krillin and everyone else. Even my dad, I mean he was always really nice to Videl and her father, but he just couldn't take them seriously. And that really hurt her. So we broke up." Gohan grinned self-consciously. "Actually, she dumped me."

"Hmm." Acia chewed her lips thoughtfully. "So now you imagine you'll have better luck with a mean girl."

Gohan laughed. "I don't think you're a mean girl, Acia. I know you've done a lot of bad things. But you haven't done anything bad since you got here" – guilt twisted in the pit of her stomach – "and I think that shows you're a good person. So I want us to be friends. You could use a friend, right? I know I could."

Acia swallowed, dark eyes once again roaming Gohan's face for signs of deceit. This time, they were filled not with skepticism but with something else. Something warm, glowing.

Hope?

"Friends treat each other as equals," she said.

"Friends are nice to each other," he replied.

She smiled, and held out a hand. "Deal."

Gohan took it, smiling back as they shook on their agreement.

Then he bent forward and kissed her.

It was a chaste kiss, a light pressure against her lips before he retreated, face red and smile wavering, unsure.

Acia licked her lips slowly, savoring the strange feeling, the unfamiliar taste. Then, "You taste like you smell."

"Huh?"

She licked her lips again. "It's like your scent is also a taste." It was hard to explain; it had never occurred to her that people could have tastes the way they had scents.

"Um…," Gohan felt his blush deepen. "Is it a good taste?"

Acia's head tilted thoughtfully for a moment before she leaned up towards his face and pressed her lips against his, eyes open and boring holes into him as his own eyelids fluttered with the pressure and the pleasure.

"I suppose," she said when she let go.

"Huh?" Gohan was starting to feel a little dazed.

"I suppose it's a pleasant taste."

"Oh. Um…" – _don't push it –_ "that-that was a pretty tame kiss. I mean it was nice!" he corrected quickly as Acia's brows furrowed. "But we could, you know, more…if you want…heh heh…"

An awkward silence filled the room. Gohan sat, face tomato red, as Acia stared at him with the most inexplicable look on her face.

Finally she shrugged. "Trunks' isn't home yet."

* * *

Later, when Gohan was gone and the sky had darkened, Acia lay in bed with her thoughts and wondered.

Had she ever really had any friends? She'd always thought of her father's crew as her friends, but they were more like her caretakers than anything else. DeeDee and Finn especially were like a second set of parents. Even Quoarin, who was the youngest of their group, was a good 13 years older than her.

Now Gohan was her friend. Although the kissing was probably outside the scope of friendship. Still, it was probably a better approximation than her relationship with anyone else.

Did she believe him, when he said he thought she was a nice person? Did she believe that he had no other motives?

 _He's definitely enjoying the physical stuff,_ she thought cynically. And yet..

 _He's trustworthy._

 _But I'm not…_

The traitorous thought broke through her subconscious like a wave against the rocks – inevitable, undeniable. Wasn't she planning an escape under his nose? Hadn't she practically forgotten he even existed, so wrapped up in her search for the scouter was she?

Wouldn't she, when the time came, leave this planet without so much as a farewell to him?

A lump materialized in her throat. Her breath constricted, and her body tensed as a sense of distress overwhelmed her. Suddenly this most basic part of her plan seemed…mean.

She rolled over in the bed, clutching the sheets to her chest. _Well fine, it is mean. So? I warned him._

This didn't seem like such a good excuse all of a sudden.

 _What else is there? What can I do? Stay here?_

…

This was really frustrating.

And ridiculous. Ridiculous!

 _All this because of a few stupid kisses,_ she thought, punching the pillow viciously as she twisted round again. _What if we'd actually done something worth talking about…_

The kissing was pretty nice though…

It wasn't just kissing, she remembered suddenly, her body burning under the sheets. She'd let him play with her tail too! He'd been practically petting her!

 _Thank the gods Mother isn't here._

This was all her fault. She'd grabbed him by the river, she'd agreed to go on a date with him, she'd said he could come visit her here. And now she was…what?

 _What?_

Now more than ever, she missed DeeDee. This was the kind of thing the older woman was good at. She knew how to handle people, how to say and do just the right thing to get what she wanted without having to give too much in return. Acia wasn't even sure what she wanted from Gohan, let alone how she was going to get it.

If anything, he was likely to get a lot more out of this, whatever it was, than she was. How embarrassing. DeeDee would be so ashamed of her now.

Well one thing was for sure, her plan had to go forward no matter what. She would find that scouter, and with it a way off this ball of dust and out into the _real_ world.

The bedsheets twisted in her grasp. She had to do this.

 _What else is there?_

* * *

 _Meanwhile, far way in the depths of space, two people are having a heated discussion as they hurtle through the inky blackness._

 _They are being shot at by another ship. This is making the discussion even more tense than usual._

"I thought you said you were the best fighter pilot in the galaxy."

"I am!"

"Well, I'm quite certain that last shot missed our engine by an inch and a half."

"Well it missed, didn't it!"

"We can't keep doing this."

"Yes, thank you very much for that wonderful piece of insight! I have given you a perfectly reasonable solution…"

"Absolutely unacceptable."

 _"Why?"_

"You know why. We'll just put her in unnecessary danger, and I took an oath…"

"Yes, so I've heard. I am sick of you implying that you care about her more than I do. You barely know the girl!"

"Yes well, you're not even supposed to know where she is."

"Well excuse me for not trusting the parenting instincts of a couple of Saiyans. I got that information because I don't want her to be harmed!"

"Then do her a favor and stay clear of her."

Another shot was fired and the pilot jerked the ship out of the way just in time.

"I'm starting to get a headache."

"I _birthed_ that girl you know! Me and Cora in a room barely big enough to hold the bed she was on, screaming like a crazy woman while she pushed out a pile of blood and flesh and hair!"

"That sounds disgusting."

"It _was_ disgusting! But I would do it all over again for her. And you dare suggest that I would deliberately put her in harm's way! It's not like you've got any ideas!"

"I told you, shoot them down."

"And I told _you,_ shooting them will just get us into more trouble. There's plenty more where these boys came from, and the more soldiers they lose the more determined they'll be to catch us."

"Then why do you think we'll lose them on the way to that planet? Eearth?"

"It's a long trip, and I'm a very good pilot."

"So you say. I think one of those shots damaged the spare generator."

"Gods, you are the absolute worst. We should have just gone to Quelda with 'Rin. At least I wouldn't have to deal with you on my own."

"Yes, that's a great idea. Let's go vacation in a warzone, that'll be much less dangerous than this joyride."

"They could probably use our help, and we'd at least have something to do."

"The last time you looked for something to do we ended up in this mess!"

" _Fine!_ Hold on tight, my green friend. This joyride is about to get very bumpy."


	28. Chapter 28

"Gohan?"

The half-Saiyan turned to face his father.

"You going somewhere buddy?"

"Uh..." Gohan felt cold drops of sweat form on his forehead. He was halfway out his bedroom window with no conceivably good explanation as to why that was.

Goku tilted his head at his son curiously.

"Uh," Gohan said again. "I just thought I'd go to the…library. To study."

"Can't you study here?" Goku asked.

"Uh, yeah, sure." Gohan hesitated. "Um, I'm missing some books. Yeah, I'm missing some books," he decided. "Very important books. That I need. To study. Um."

"Oh, okay." His father was looking at him very strangely. "You could use the door you know."

"Yeah, of course!" Gohan chuckled nervously. He extracted himself from the window. "Right. I'll just go now." He stumbled towards his bedroom door.

"Don't you need your notebooks and stuff?" Goku pointed to the abandoned study materials on Gohan's desk.

"Right!" Gohan's face was now a bright red. "Heh. I guess I forgot."

The teenager fumbled around his desk, stuffing papers and notebooks into his bookbag hurriedly, before practically sprinting out the door.

Goku watched Gohan's retreating back and felt something he'd never felt before towards his eldest son.

Disappointment.

* * *

Gohan made his way not to the library, of course, but to Acia's bedroom window. Over the last month the two teens had been meeting the same way almost every day, taking advantage of Vegeta's frequent absences.

It had really started the second time Gohan had shown up unannounced at her window, and Acia discovered that the half-Saiyan was trained in telepathy. Since then, Acia used the technique to inform Gohan when the coast was clear, and Gohan used it to tell her when he could come over.

Unfortunately for Gohan, this involved a lot of lying, which made him uncomfortable and which he wasn't particularly good at. Acia, who was an expert at it, didn't see what the bid deal was.

It was becoming an increasing source of tension between them.

Gohan arrived to find the window open as usual, and let himself in. Acia was lying on the bed, her nose in a book called "Guns, Germs, and Steel." She peeked up from behind the worn copy but didn't set it down, following Gohan's entrance with her eyes instead.

He stood at the window for a moment, watching her watch him before he spoke up.

"Hey," he said.

Finally, Acia lowered her book and grinned at him.

Gohan joined her on the bed, sighing a little as he settled against the pillows.

Acia cocked an eyebrow at him. "What is it?"

"Nothing," Gohan replied, smiling unconvincingly. He reclined a little deeper, turning on his side to face her. "I'm happy you'll be free to go in a couple weeks."

Acia shrugged. "I just hope my uncle doesn't change his mind."

Over the last month, Acia had avoided her uncle almost completely, meeting him only at the kitchen table during mealtimes. Even then, she ate in silence, carefully avoiding his gaze. He'd done the same – since the private conversation he'd had with his niece when she'd first returned to his home, Vegeta had not spoken a single word to Acia. It made her nervous, not being able to read him. She'd been tempted, so many times, to take a peek into his mind and see just what he was thinking, but she was too scared. Since Gohan told her he was also capable of telepathy, Acia had begun to suspect that the two older Saiyans were much more capable of psychic techniques than they let on.

It had been a frustrating month for Acia. Unable to take a step into her uncle and aunt's bedroom, her scouter search had essentially come to a screeching halt. She'd broken into the lab two more times to no avail – it just wasn't there.

And that was it. Acia was trapped in Capsule Corp., with few outlets for training. There was nothing to do but read, which was interesting but hardly the stress relief she needed. Between training with Bulla and fighting with Trunks, Acia was going nuts with boredom. Gohan had rapidly become the one bright spot in her life.

"He won't," Gohan reassured her. "It'll be great, you'll see! We can finally go on our second date. We could go to the beach with Krillin, or maybe we could see a movie – you've never been to a movie theater right? – or we could…"

"Gohan stop," Acia interrupted, looking annoyed. "What exactly do you think is going to happen two weeks from now? We're not telling anyone about the date."

Gohan's eyes widened in surprise at this sudden hostility. "Wha-what…why not?"

"You said we could keep it a secret!" Acia said, voice rising in frustration.

"Yeah," Gohan sat up, shifting on his knees, brows creased in confusion, "but we agreed that wouldn't be forever, right?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean we need to say anything _now."_

"Acia, we've been seeing each other for three months."

"Perhaps you'd like to tell my uncle that you've been sneaking in here to see me."

Gohan sighed heavily, leaning forward to close the gap between them. "Acia…" She was so resistant sometimes, it was frustrating.

Acia glanced to the side in silent consideration. Finally, she inched closer to Gohan's face, her nose almost touching his, eyes glancing downwards and hidden beneath her bangs. "I need something," she whispered.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice lowering to match hers.

"My scouter." She glanced up quickly, taking in his expression – confused, curious – then looking back down again, her gaze concentrating on the hem of her short dress spread over her crossed legs, bare knees touching Gohan's jeans-clad ones.

"Why…"

"My uncle took it from me when I first got here," she said quickly. "It-I just need the communicator, that's all. I need to contact my parents."

"But…"

"It's been six months." Her eyes were hard now, determined. "It wasn't supposed to be this long."

"Okay," Gohan said slowly, wrapping his mind around the unexpected request. "So…you want me to ask him for it? I don't think he'll…"

"No, no, of course not." Acia twisted the hem of her dress nervously. She hadn't planned on dragging Gohan into this. As far as she was concerned, she was too involved with him already. But he was easy to talk to, he was trustworthy, and he was _here._ "But, maybe Bulma?"

"Yeah, okay." Gohan's face relaxed a little. "Couldn't you ask Bulma yourself though?"

"I don't want them to know I'm the one asking for it," Acia explained, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice. For being the smart one, Gohan could be more than a little dense sometimes.

"Okay," Gohan nodded in understanding. "I get it." His lips pursed in concern and he reached for her, cupping her face in his hands. Acia closed her eyes against the comforting touch, and Gohan leaned forward and kissed her gently. "It'll be okay," he said against her lips, and she smiled softly at the tickling sensation. "I'm here for you no matter what."

Eyes still shut, Acia closed the bare inch between them, kissing him, tugging on his shirt, pulling him closer.

Gohan kissed her back, one hand moving up to stroke her hair while another drifted downwards, moving around her back, letting her tail twist around his forearm and squeeze it.

She was always aggressive when they did this. Even now she was pinching the skin under his shirt with one hand and digging her nails into his neck with another. Her tail's grip on his arm vicelike.

It was painful. It was also, to his terror, very pleasant.

* * *

There was no one Goku loved more than his firstborn son. He loved Chi Chi and Goten with all his heart, every fiber of his being. But Gohan was special. He'd come into Goku's life at a time when the Saiyan was, frankly, confused about married life and what was expected of him in this new role.

Chi Chi, of course, knew exactly what it meant to be married and what wives and husbands were meant to do, and she had no problem telling him exactly what she expected of him. But it was still Goku being led by the hand through this unfamiliar territory, and that had been new and uncomfortable for him. He'd always known what he wanted to accomplish and how he was going to do it, even in those days when his foresight was limited to the next mealtime and he couldn't tell boys from girls.

When Chi Chi had explained to him what it meant to be pregnant, he was apprehensive. He couldn't remember ever even _seeing_ an infant, and being responsible for one was something he'd never considered. When Gohan was born, Goku was content to let Chi Chi take the reins and raise him the way she wanted.

But then he'd started laughing. Walking. Talking. Looking at Goku with those curious, admiring eyes. His little tail waving behind him. And Goku had felt something like he'd never felt before.

He'd fought for people so many times before. He'd fought against the Red Ribbon Army for villages all over the world, and he'd done it for the people. He'd fought King Piccolo to save the Earth, and he'd done it for the people of the world. But there had always been the thrill of the fight, the desire to test himself against an opponent, that element of selfishness, that part of him that fought for his own betterment.

With Gohan it was different. When his brother had kidnapped him, there was not a single part of Goku that fought for any reason other than to save his son. It was always like that with Gohan. The world disappeared before him.

It was a two-way street with them. Goku always believed he and his son had a special bond, one strengthened by their time on Namek and in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Even when he returned after seven years in Other World, he still felt that connection with Gohan, that sense that they were part of one whole.

And now his son was lying to him.

It hurt.

That was how Goku found himself at Kame Island, sitting on the beach with his oldest friend, their legs stretched out into the surf, salt water running over their bare feet.

"I honestly don't know what to tell you Goku," Krillin was saying, leaning back on his elbows in the sand. "Maybe you should just confront him, you know? Tell him you know he's been lying and sneaking around and you wanna know what's up."

Goku sighed heavily. "I just don't know why he'd lie to me at all. I mean, I know he's kept stuff from Chi Chi before, but I thought it was different with me."

Krillin patted his friend on the shoulder. "I'm sorry Goku, I just don't know what to tell you. I mean, Marron's only eight, and teenagers, they're a whole 'nother ball game." He paused, then added, "Do you have any idea what's going on with him? Maybe Piccolo has an idea…"

"I already talked to Piccolo," Goku replied. "He hasn't seen Gohan in a week, even though he tells me he's going to the Lookout. He comes home smelling…different, but not strange."

"Huh?" Krillin, having no nose, was the least person qualified to understand just how significant smell was to Saiyans.

"It's familiar," Goku explained. "He's not going somewhere new or different from where he normally goes. That's why I don't understand why he's lying."

Krillin considered this for a moment, then turned back to Goku. "Talk to him," he said firmly. "He's still the same Gohan, and he's a good kid. If he's lying, there's probably a reason for it, but he'll trust you."

Goku nodded, giving Krillin a small smile. Maybe this was simpler than he thought.

But maybe those seven years had created a rift he couldn't see.

 **A/N: Hello everyone! It's been a while, and this chapter is quite short too. Believe it or not I spent a lot of time on this. As the story develops and grows I'm really determined to keep everyone in character while at the same time crafting a plot that is both believable and exciting. It's been a huge challenge, but I'm looking forward to the next stage in this story and have a lot of ideas for what will happen next. Piccolo, Chiaotzu, and the other characters will also play a bigger role in the upcoming chapters as well. So please continue to read and review! Your feedback gives me ideas and helps guide my writing.**


	29. Chapter 29

"Chiaotzu! This is a surprise!" Bulma smiled at the small human as she stepped aside to let him into her house. Even before Vegeta moved in, Chiaotzu and Tien were rare visitors to Capsule Corp.

Behind Bulma, Acia stood practically hopping from one foot to the other, the grin on her face threatening to split it open in her excitement. "Chiaotzu!" she squealed, pushing past Bulma to grab him in a tight embrace.

"Oh gosh!" Chiaotzu patted her elbow awkwardly and tried not to feel to self-conscious about the fact that his feet were dangling several inches from the ground.

Bulma raised an eyebrow at this unexpected display of affection – she knew Chiaotzu was helping Piccolo with Acia at the Lookout, but she'd never imagined the two were that close. "How about we take this lovefest inside?" she grinned.

"No!" Acia shouted. Chiaotzu was here to free her, finally, from the prison that Capsule Corp. had been for the last two months, and she was not going to stay for a second longer than she had to. "No," she repeated. "We have to catch up on training, so we need to leave now." Grasping the man's hand, she sprinted out the door, yelling incoherent goodbyes back at her aunt.

As soon as they were outside Acia shot into the air and made a triumphant loop. "Race you to the Lookout!" she yelled back at Chiaotzu as she sped off, spiraling in the open air.

Acia was not the only one pleased to be out of the Briefs' home. Trunks' suspicions had not abated over the course of his cousin's grounding, and he'd been waiting very patiently for this day. She was not the only one who could sneak around.

Goten had arrived in Capsule Corp. earlier that morning with the expectation that they would spend the day playing video games, but it didn't take a lot of persuasion for Trunks to get him on board with his plan to uncover Acia's sinister plot. Not that Goten believed there was a sinister plot, but he was always on board with Trunks' plans no matter how wild they may be. It was, in Trunks' opinion, one of his better attributes. And so the two half-Saiyans found themselves in Acia's bedroom, trying to find the evidence that Trunks was certain existed.

"Trunks," Goten said as the boy began rifling through her clothes, "I don't think we should be doing this. What if she comes back and catches us?"

"She's not gonna come back now, she just left!" Trunks snapped. "Besides, we'd sense her coming way before she ever got here." Turning to see his friend's concerned face, he sighed. "Look, the faster we do this, the sooner we'll be out of here, okay? Now open the closet and start looking!"

Reluctantly, Goten made his way the closet. "But I don't even know what we're looking for! And mom says it's bad manners for boys to look at girls' underwear."

"That's not the same thing."

"How come?"

"It's just not, okay Goten! Now come on, you said you'd help."

Goten sighed. He wanted to help Trunks, but this was starting to seem more and more like a bad idea. Trunks could be a little distrusting sometimes. Maybe, it occurred to him, if they searched and didn't find anything, it would make Trunks feel better.

Goten began to dutifully go through the few shirts and dresses hanging in the closet. Acia's Saiyan battlesuit was folded on a shelf higher up, and Goten floated up to sift through it, trying not to disturb it too much. Finally, after several long minutes, Goten felt like he had done his duty by his best friend.

"Trunks," he said as he got down on his hands and knees to call the older boy, who had crawled under the bed, "I don't think there's anything here."

Mumbling to himself, Trunks crawled back out and plopped onto the bed, disappointed.

Goten joined him. "You should be happy," he said, patting his friend's shoulder. "It's good that we didn't find anything. It means she's not being bad."

"But she _is_ being bad!" Trunks insisted. "We just don't know how. I can't believe we didn't find anything!" He huffed and turned to his friend. "Are you sure you looked hard enough?"

"Yeah…" Something was tickling on the edge of Goten's senses, and he wasn't quite sure what it was.

"Goten?" Trunks waved a hand in front of his unfocused eyes. "Hello, Earth to Goten!"

"Wait a minute," Goten said, brows furrowing in intense and uncharacteristic concentration. Suddenly, he pushed his face into the sheets and inhaled deeply. He shot up. "Gohan was here!"

"What?"

"Gohan was here," Goten repeated. "Acia's bed smells just like his does at home!" He scratched his head. "But how could that happen? I thought Acia wasn't allowed to see anybody while she was grounded."

"She wasn't," Trunks said. "But if Gohan was here, that means she broke the rules." He stood up triumphantly. "Whatever she's up to, Gohan must be in on it!"

"But Trunks," Goten protested, "even if Acia were doing something bad, Gohan wouldn't help her. He never does anything bad!"

"Oh, yeah." Trunks paused for a second. "Maybe she's tricked him into it," he suggested. "Which means we have to figure out what it is before she gets him into trouble."

"You really think she's could get Gohan into trouble?" Goten asked, his lower lip trembling a bit.

Trunks paused again. It was beginning to occur to him that Gohan and Acia may very well be meeting up for reasons far less nefarious, and far more gross, than he was assuming. On the other hand, they'd just had a major breakthrough and he was not about to drop this now.

"I think," he began carefully, "that we need to find out what's going on. That way if she _is_ getting Gohan into trouble we can stop her, and if she's not, well then at least we know for sure."

* * *

As it happened, Gohan was on his way to Capsule Corp. – on Acia's instructions.

With her training at the Lookout for the first time in two months, she'd explained, Gohan could safely make his inquiries about her scouter without raising suspicions. At least, that was her logic.

"Won't it be suspicious if I just ask about your scouter out of the blue?" he'd asked.

"You don't ask out of the blue," she'd said, "you lead the conversation to the scouter naturally."

How he was supposed to manage _that,_ he had no idea, and he felt his muscles tense as the domed building came into view.

Bulma was all too happy to let him into her lab. Gohan was one of the few people she knew who could keep up with her scientific mind, and while the flying and punching were all very exciting, it was nice to have a conversation with _words_ every once in a while.

"So, physics project?" she said as she sat at her desk.

"Yeah. We're supposed to come up with a proposal for a technological advancement," Gohan said, trying to hide how sweaty his palms were becoming as he started in on his pre-planned lie, "and I remembered how back when I was a kid you told me you were trying to figure out how my uncle's scouter worked."

"Yeah! That kept me occupied for a long time," Bulma said as she unlocked one of her cabinet drawers and began rifling through papers. "I figured out how to turn it on pretty quickly, but understanding how it worked was a totally different ball game. I had to get Vegeta to help me out with it."

"Vegeta? Really?"

"Yeah. We had a deal, he'd help me with the scouter, and I'd make as many repairs as he needed to the gravity room as long as he didn't blow it up." She sighed wistfully as she recalled the early days of their courtship. "But man, that scouter! There were so many features on it! It wasn't just for measuring power levels you know. Besides the communicator, it had all kinds of technological capabilities and information storage on it. It could tell you the atmospheric composition, the weather, the nearest spaceport from where you were – of course those were all run by Frieza back then – it had ID on it, I mean, just all kinds of things. Aha!" she declared, pulling out a folder and slamming it onto the desk. "See!"

The folder contained numerous sketches of Raditz's scouter what appeared to be an older model of Capsule Corp.'s trademark mobile phone. "Not all of that stuff was relevant to us here on Earth, but I took what was and incorporated it into our cell phones! They've been number one on the market since!" She grinned, leaning back and crossing her arms triumphantly.

"Wow! That's amazing Bulma!" There was a newer model of that phone in Gohan's back pocket, but the curious teenager couldn't help but be fascinated by the scientist's process and her attention to detail. Diagrams of the scouter in particular were extremely detailed, the page margins covered in notations, some in Bulma's flowery script but many in what Gohan could only assume was Vegeta's meticulous handwriting.

"I _am_ amazing," Bulma giggled.

"So, uh, I bet Acia's scouter is even better, right? Ha ha," Gohan chuckled nervously, trying not to fidget in his seat. "You know, 'cause it's newer. I mean, I'm just guessing…"

Bulma's bright smile turned into a ferocious scowl. "I wouldn't know! That jerk won't turn it back on!"

"Vegeta?" Gohan asked, a little confused.

"Who else!" she cried, exasperated. "I had to practically beg him just to take a look at it, and when he finally let me the damn thing wasn't turned on."

"What do you mean, not turned on?"

"It's disabled," Bulma explained. "I dismantled it piece by piece trying to figure out why it wasn't working, and when I compared it to diagrams of this old one it turned out there was a piece missing. I tried to fit the piece from the old scouter into Acia's, but it wouldn't work!"

"So Vegeta took a piece out to disable the scouter?"

"Obviously! He says he has no idea what I'm talking about, the lying jerk."

"But why would he do that?" Gohan asked, confused. "I mean, what if Acia's parents are trying to get in touch with her? What if something bad's happened to them and they need help?"

"Oh." Bulma paused for a moment, her eyes drifting upwards as she considered the question. The truth was, of course, that both she and Vegeta believed that Acia's parents had left her here because they didn't think they would make it, but somehow that didn't seem an appropriate thing to say to the teenager in front of her. "Well, I don't know," she said finally. "I mean, the deal was always that her parents would come here to get her when they were ready. From the very beginning, Vegeta didn't want Acia contacting people from space, people who might be dangerous. And it's not just contact," she added. "These scouters have locator devices on them. Anyone could hack into her parents' spaceship system and use it to find her. Look Gohan," she said reaching across the desk to lay a reassuring hand on his arm, "Vegeta's just trying to look out for us. All of us, including Acia, okay? And if he was really worried about his sister I'm sure he would have found a way to stay in touch."

"Oh." Gohan wasn't sure how to feel about this. What Bulma was saying made sense, but then again, Bulma had a way of making terrible choices seem alright. This was the woman who had, many years ago, tried to convince him that abandoning his father and Piccolo on an exploding planet was a good idea.

It just wasn't fair! That year his father had spent apart from them had been the worst year of Gohan's life. Most nights he could hardly sleep, wondering what terrible things his father was facing alone in space. And now Acia was in the exact same situation, only instead of having no choice but to wait and see, her only connection to her parents had been disabled, and that too by her uncle.

Well, there was at least one thing he could do. "Where's the scouter now?" he asked. "Do you have it here?"

"No, what's the point?" Bulma said. "It's with Vegeta. Who knows where he keeps it?"

Damn.

 **A/N: I can't believe how long it's been since I've updated! I apologize to all of you for the huge delay. To be honest for a while I was feeling very uninspired with this story, but now I'm recharged and can't wait to complete it. I have it all planned out and I think you guys will really enjoy how these different arcs play out, so please continue to read and review!**


	30. Chapter 30

Vegeta was moving quickly, his every punch and kick calculated to land on Goku's most sensitive spots. A punch to the chest, a quick opening of the palm, a blinding light, and the younger Saiyan was flat on his back, panting.

Vegeta scowled as he marched over to where his opponent was trying to roll back onto his feet and delivered a swift kick to his ribs, pushing him backwards.

"Aw, Vegeta!" Goku moaned. "C'mon, let me up."

"What the hell is wrong with you, Kakarot?" Vegeta barked. "I'd get more of a workout sparring with Bulma! Where's your head?"

Goku sat up and rubbed his face tiredly. "I guess I'm not really focused today, huh Vegeta?"

Vegeta growled in response.

"I'm worried about Gohan," Goku said, looking up at the older Saiyan with what he hoped was the pouting look that worked so well on Chi Chi.

Vegeta, however, was rolling his eyes.

It became clear, after several minutes passed in silence with Goku continuing to pout, first at Vegeta and then at the ground, that they were not going to continue to spar.

"What," Vegeta sighed heavily, "is the problem with the brat?"

"He's been sneaking off and lying to me about where he's going," Goku said sadly.

There was a pause. "That's it?"

"Well he's never lied to me before!"

"Kakarot you're pathetic," Vegeta spat. "How do you lose track of your own brat? Where could he possibly go that you couldn't find him?"

Goku shrugged. "I guess I could track him now. He oughta be at school."

* * *

Gohan was not at school.

He was, as usual, at Capsule Corp., in Acia's bedroom.

"Well?" Acia was practically trembling with nervousness – she knew Gohan had gone to Bulma, but he hadn't said anything about the scouter when he'd reached out to her, even though she'd asked.

She knew he didn't have good news for her. But there was a part of her that needed to hear him say it, that _wanted_ to hear it, a masochistic desire that she had to fulfil.

"She doesn't have it." Gohan paused, then blurted out, "It doesn't matter anyway, because Vegeta disabled it!"

"Dis-disabled? "Wha..what do you mean?"

"He took a piece out of it. I don't know…a-a, like a part of it or something. I'm not sure, Bulma showed me the blueprints, but I-I…"

But Acia hadn't heard anyting he'd said after "disabled." Her head was spinning. It hadn't even occurred to her that her uncle would do something like this, that he even had the technical ability to know how to disable a scouter.

That scouter had been her last hope. The only thing, however small, that connected her to her past life. The only compass towards a path of return. The only guarantee that there would be, could be, a return at all.

But no, she could fix it. Right? Her hand was in her hair, her bangs, nails scraping her scalp with unconscious force. She could fix it. She could fix a spaceship, a scouter was no big deal. A part was missing, but parts could be replaced, they could be reconstructed.

Replaced. That was it. She would have to replace it.

No one would outsmart her. She had been overpowered, overrun. Never outsmarted. Never.

"Acia?"

Gohan had watched her spin around the room, her whole face sinking, fading. She was sitting on the floor now, hands in her hair, eyes empty and unfocused.

"Acia, are you okay?" Gohan knelt down, reached out to touch her arm, her face. He knew she would not take this news well, but this he had not anticipated. "Acia, I-,"

She grabbed him. It was a forceful, sudden movement that caught Gohan completely by surprise, his shirt twisting in her fist. She wasn't looking at him either. Her whole face was contracted into a grimace.

"I can't stay here."

"Huh?"

"I can't!" Acia yelled. "Look," she turned to him, turned _on_ him. In one motion she was on her knees, both hands grabbing his shoulders, her face inches from his own. "You, you have to understand, this isn't- I can't stay here. I-I," she tried to take a deep breath but it caught in her throat. Hyperventilating, her grip loosened, hands slid down Gohan's chest. She felt faint.

How, how was this happening? How was this _allowed_ to happen? Stuck on this useless piece of rock, on the edge of the galaxy where no one would ever find her, where there was no hope of salvation. Trapped by these, these _humans,_ with their pathetic technology and their practically lifeless bodies, loud clamorous voices echoing through meaningless lives. Trapped by her own blood, a man who hadn't even _seen_ a scouter in _years,_ let alone worked one…

How dare they? _How dare they?_

It was at this moment that Goku and Vegeta burst through the door.

 **A/N: HELLO! It has been months and months since I've updated this story, so thank you to all of you who have been reading and favoriting all this time! Seeing your favorites and follows has motivated me to complete this story. I have it all planned out and hope to have it completed over the next month (my goal is to finish it before the new year).**

 **Part of why I haven't updated is because I've been busy with my new(er) story, "Order and Might," but mostly it's because I lost my way a little bit with this story. I knew where I wanted to go, but not how I was going to get there. Now, I'm feeling more confident and more inspired! I can't wait to wrap up this story very soon, so please continue to read and review! Thank you!**


	31. Chapter 31

"What in the hell is going o-,"

Before he could even get the sentence out Acia was on top of Vegeta like a wild animal, the full weight of her body slamming into him. The two flew through the doorway and into the hallway wall, the force of the impact practically collapsing it.

Acia had the advantage of surprise on her side and she wielded it expertly, pushing herself off her uncle as they landed and delivering several quick blows to his head.

"What did you do to it?!" she screamed. "What did you do?!"

Goku moved first, grabbing her by the waist and heaving her off Vegeta. Her _ki_ spiked as she struggled in his grip. She elbowed him in the face, once, twice, again and again, her eyes seeing nothing but Vegeta as he sat up in the rubble and spat blood out onto the carpeted floor.

As Vegeta stood up again to face her she raised her palms. In her mind's eye she could see him dead, and the blast grew bigger as her rage hardened.

She fired. Vegeta blocked it easily. She was still in Goku's gripped, and now he grabbed her arm and tried to force her to stop. Instead she struggled against him harder. He was saying something, yelling it into her ear. To her it was just white noise, dull and unintelligible. Every sense she had was focused on Vegeta. Outside of him the world was faded; even Goku's grip was a mere brush against her skin. Here and now, all she could see, all she could feel was the thirst for vengeance. The great ape in her roared: they could not both be alive after his betrayal. One of them had to die, and even though she knew she could not hold out against him for very long, she didn't care. She would die before she spent another humiliating moment as his prisoner. And as she watched his advance, she felt the pride and relief of knowing that she would go down fighting, a true Saiyan to the very end.

* * *

Once again, Piccolo found himself at a conference at the Briefs' dining room table.

Piccolo had just about had it with these group conferences. He wasn't responsible for Gohan's behavior, not technically, at least, and in any case the boy was grown now. And where Vegeta got off summoning them like some kind of almighty god was beyond him. He didn't answer to Vegeta or anyone else on this planet.

A small voice in his head reminded him that no one had actually told him to come here, that it was he, in fact, who'd come running when Goku told him what was going on. Indeed, no one, least of all Vegeta, had suggested that his presence here was necessary.

The voice was resolutely ignored.

Vegeta was pacing up and down the room. "So what you're saying," he began with uncharacteristic and rapidly dissipating self-control, "is that the girl _told you_ that she was trying to establish contact with a hostile alien force, and you decided to _help her?_ "

"She was just trying to talk to her parents, Vegeta." Gohan was staring holes into the ground, his shoulders tense with suppressed Saiyan aggression that Piccolo felt rolling off him in waves. "She wasn't trying to orchestrate an invasion of Earth or something."

The thud of Vegeta's hand against the table was so loud and so sudden even Goku winced. "How," Vegeta spat, "how can you be so smart and so stupid at the same time?" Short as he was, and even though he was bent over, he still towered over the boy. "How could you have fallen for such an obvious lie?! She _used you_ to try to bring her mercenary pals here so they could take her back with them, and raid the Earth while they're at it!"

A tremor of confusion crossed Gohan's face.

"What? What did you think was going to happen? Did you really think that a couple shopping trips would be enough to change her ways?"

Piccolo sat up. He had not felt anger like this coming from Gohan in a long time, and he didn't think Capsule Corp. could withstand another Saiyan blowout.

"Alright Vegeta, you've made your point," Goku said. "Gohan didn't do anything wrong, he was just trying…"

"Oh for gods' sakes Kakarot!" Vegeta spat. "Are you really going to stand here and defend him, defend his sheer idiocy – "

"Hey, that's enough Vegeta!"

"Will it be enough when her comrades blast us into oblivion? They won't even have to get off their ship!"

"SHUT UP!"

The two Saiyans turned to stare at Gohan, his whole body tensed in an instinctive effort to contain a bubbling cauldron of rage.

"I'm so sick of you Vegeta! It's none of your business what I do, what anyone here does! We're not your subjects for you to yell at us all and give us orders. This isn't planet Vegeta. You're on Earth, and you've been here for what, 13 years? Get over yourself already!"

Silence.

"Okay, I think we've all yelled enough," Piccolo said, breaking his silence and getting up to put a comforting hand on Gohan's shoulder. "All this arguing isn't getting us anywhere."

"You're right," Gohan spat, pushing Piccolo's hand away and stomping towards the door. "That's why I'm leaving."

"Leaving?!" Goku cried incredously. "Wait, what? Where are you going?"

But Gohan had already disappeared.

* * *

Acia, of course, was not dead.

She was, however, unconscious in the hospital ward of the Briefs' compound. She'd sustained several injuries, mostly internal, and was hooked up to an IV.

In a few hours she would be awake, and it would be then that her life on Earth would change.


	32. Chapter 32

Not this again.

How many times, Acia wondered as she fumbled with the IV in her arm, could she afford to get into these hopeless fights before she took some real, irreversible damage? There had to be a better way to get what she needed.

Well, at least she wasn't dead. It was easy to embrace death in the heat of battle, but now that she had cooled off, she had to admit that she was relieved. She was too young to die on a planet in the middle of nowhere.

Of course, she considered, death was still a possibility given what had landed her here in the first place.

"Ah." Dr. Briefs kindly face appeared at the door and approached her, followed closely by little Trunks. "You're awake. And how are we feeling today?"

"Today?" Acia pushed herself up as the two sat beside her.

"You've been out cold for almost three days now," Trunks said.

"Oh."

"Yeah, Dad's pretty pissed with you."

Acia chuckled softly. "I see. And you're here to gloat."

"No," Dr. Briefs gave his grandson a pointed look. "Trunks and I have had a nice little talk and he has something he wants to say to you."

Trunks groaned. "Fine! Look, I'm sorry I went around digging through your stuff. Even though I was right and you _were_ up to something," – he caught his grandfather's eye – "but it still was wrong." He paused a moment, and crossed his arms. "You got Gohan into a lot of trouble."

Acia looked at Dr. Briefs. The older man shrugged.

"He and Vegeta had a little spat, that's all. I'm sure it'll blow over in no time."

"Yeah well, Uncle Goku had a big fight with Dad about it," Trunks continued. "And Goten says Gohan is barely home anymore. They don't know where he goes."

"These things happen with young people," Dr. Briefs interjected.

"Dad says he wants you to leave."

"Leave?" Acia asked.

"The planet," Trunks replied. "He says you're too much trouble and it's not his job to make you stay."

Acia lay back. This is what she'd wanted all along. Gods, if she had known that all she had to do to get it was throw the tantrum of the century, she would have done it long ago.

"When can I go?"

"Ah." Dr. Briefs held her hand gently. "Trunks, why don't you go see if your grandmother needs help with lunch, hmm?"

The boy scowled, but obeyed.

"Don't try to talk me out of it," Acia said once they were alone.

"Oh no." Dr. Briefs smiled genially. "I know better than to try to talk a teenaged girl out of anything! But I must say, I do think that leaving the entire planet because you're not getting along with your uncle is a bit drastic."

"It's not just him and you know it. I don't belong here."

"Hmm." Dr. Briefs nodded solemnly. "I understand how you feel, better than you might think actually. You know," he shifted to sit more comfortably on the bed, "I'm not from this city. I'm from a small town in the mining district, it's west from here. My father was a miner, and so were his brothers and his father and his cousins and almost everyone else we knew. It's funny," the doctor chuckled to himself, "you're an actual alien, but in that town, they may have found more in common with you than they did with me!"

Acia rolled her eyes. Dr. Briefs didn't seem to notice.

"I knew since I was seven years old that I simply didn't belong in my own family. Where I got my genius from I really don't know. One of those genetic flukes I suppose. But the why didn't matter, the important thing was that I had to go somewhere else, a place where I could achieve my full potential.

"When I was 12, I came to this city on private grant to a very prestigious school. In a way, it was the best thing that had ever happened to me. Finally I was surrounded by people who understood me and shared my interests, in a place where every door was open and every opportunity was available.

"But in other ways, it was also the worst thing that happened to me. I was still a naïve village boy, and quite poor, and the other children made fun of me. They were jealous of my intelligence, too, and so really, I've never felt like I've belonged anywhere. Even now, I lived in this city for decades, married here, had children here. But, you know, I don't go into the city very often. I spend all my time here, not just for work.

"And yet," he smiled, "I've made a home here. It's not everything I would have wished for, but I have a family that has given me so much joy, and I'm grateful for that."

"You're saying I should stay here, even though I don't belong and never will," Acia said flatly.

"I'm saying that I think you will find that belonging is not so easy to achieve," he replied. "So, here is my suggestion. Instead of leaving the entire planet, just leave this house. Here," he reached into this pocket and pulled out a key and a piece of paper. "I have a house on an island in the south sea, Mango Island. This is the key," he opened her closed fist and placed it in her palm, "and this is the access code. You'll need both to get in."

Acia stared at the key in her hand, incredulous. "You're letting me stay there?"

Dr. Briefs nodded. "It's a very nice place. Very scenic. Do you like swimming?"

"What exactly do you think this is going to fix?"

"Well, that remains to be seen, hmm?" Dr. Briefs patted her head. "But I want you to stay at least one month. Then, after that, if you still feel that Earth just isn't for you, I will happily give you the spaceship I worked so hard to build."

Acia bit her bottom lip. She already knew that just taking the ship wouldn't work, so really, what choice did she have?

"One month?"

Dr. Briefs nodded. "You have my word."

Deal.

* * *

 _Meanwhile…_

It was dark, always dark. Always just a little bit cold, the ki that normally warmed his body bound by the despotic contraptions in this place.

Turles shifted in his chains, not to get comfortable – there was no comfort here – no, it was more of a latent instinct, his muscles desperate for movement.

Every day was the same. A creature, a thing he would not even dein to call a man (or woman, as the case may be, but he did not care to ascertain which it was), would arrive every day at the same time and unchain him from the wall. The bonds themselves stayed the same, tight around his wrists and ankles, trapping the warrior ki that bubbled inside him, but instead of being linked to the wall they were released and tied up to a long chain, a leash that his captors' slave used to lead him out of his cell. They would make their way down gray halls, past cells with other prisoners, the strange faces of races from over three galaxies. How far did his captors' reach extend? He had no way of knowing.

Down the hall, into a large room, the cafeteria, a room filled with his fellow inmates. They sat on long benches in silence, ate in silence, the leash jerking against the movement of his hands as he ate. Twenty minutes, maybe? Then back again. The same route, in silence, back to the dark.

In the dark there were three people: the woman, the child, and his friend. Three people who sat with him in the darkness, haunting him, taunting him, keeping him company.

Turles had never given up in his life. He had never followed anyone's orders. Even during the darkest moments of his time under Frieza's boot, when he felt like – was treated like – an animal, a dumb beast made only to follow orders. Even then, he was always fighting, in his mind. He resisted quietly, covertly, until he was finally free.

And in that freedom, he had three people: the woman, the girl, and his friend. Funny how life came full circle, wasn't it?

The door opened, soft light filtering in, caressing his closed eyelids. He did not open them. Instead, he let his other senses follow the creature's movements, as familiar as they were. The jolt as his chains were released from the wall, another, smaller one when they were attached to the leash. The leash tugged and he shuffled along with it. As they left the cell he allowed his lids to flutter open. His eyes open but not seeing, not really taking in the dead world around him.

But even in his worst state, Turles was not _that_ unseeing.

"Where are we going?"

The creature did not stop and did not acknowledge him. It simply continued to move along a foreign path.

Turles stopped. The creature tugged the leash, once, twice, but Turles stood immobile. His ki may be bound, but he still had some agency left. The ashes of the fire that had always burned within him still contained a small spark.

The creature turned and spoke to him in what his ears recognized as an unfamiliar language, but his Babel chip immediately translated, "You have a visitor."

"Who?"

The creature shrugged. "I am only a guard officer, I do not know. Come, please."

So Turles followed. In all the long time he had been here, he had never received a visitor; he had not even known one could receive visitors in this place. And who even knew he was here?

This hall was longer, and as they walked it became brighter and warmer than the halls he was used to. Finally it came to an end at a small door, and Turles ducked his head to enter.

There was a small table and two chairs. And in one chair, the girl.

The leash was removed. The door creaked shut.

He blinked.

"You're alive." She smiled at him, the relief evident on her face and body. DeeDee. The girl.

The girl – and she'd been a girl, back then – whom he'd taken a gamble on, trusted with his most dangerous secret when he had no guarantee that she wouldn't turn him in for favor and influence. The girl whose piloting skills, underused and underappreciated by Frieza and his henchman, had clinched their escape. Here she was, smiling at him.

In their uniform.

Galactic Patrol. Purple leotard. White armor. That stupid symbol that didn't even register with him as a known language.

For a minute he felt numb. She was hugging him, and he stepped back from her.

"What…what are you doing here?"

"Oh Turles," DeeDee sighed heavily as she sat back down. "You have no idea what…"

"How long did it take you to sell out?" His voice was hoarse, but gaining strength. "What, two, three months? What did you do to get in?"

"Turles, stop."

"Did you give them Bain and Quoarin? Who else? The guys at 469? Hmm? 318? 440?"

DeeDee slammed her fist into the table. "Stop! Just stop, Turles! Damn it all, I'm trying to help you!"

"This is what help looks like?"

"We got caught by them, Bain and me."

He snorted.

"We did. We ran and we hid but they're everywhere now. You wanna talk about 469 and 440? Galactic Patrol took them over."

Turles' heart thumped in his chest. "That's impossible."

"That's what we thought, but they've gotten a lot smarter since the Cold days. They've been going around making treaties, recruiting the Empire's old fighters, making deals, developing all these supercharged weapons. 440 didn't even put up a fight. By the time they got there one of their higher ups had already negotiated the whole thing with Dolee's crew."

He sat down. "How, how can they even afford…"

"It's like, access to other planets outside the system. Trade deals. Amnesty for Frieza's bigwigs. I don't know all the details and what I do know I don't really understand, but they have a system. They call it the Galactic Alliance. The old crews and planets agree to follow their rules, and in exchange they get all this other stuff that they can't get on their own. That's why I'm here." She put her head in her hand and sighed. "They said they had you and Cora. If Bain and I agreed to work with them, they'd let you go."

He laughed, the first time in what seemed like years. "And you believed them? I thought I'd brought you up smarter than that."

"I can get you better accomodations now, better food, more freedom…"

"Did they tell you Cora's dead?"

"She's not dead."

"Might as well be."

"Because they won't treat her. I can get them to send her a doctor, a good one, someone who can fix…"

"Gods DeeDee, do you hear yourself?" he smirked. "Do you hear how stupid you sound? At least admit that you were desperate for a way to save your skin, but don't sit here and tell me you actually believed any of these ridiculous promises."

There was a long pause.

"They want me to convince you to join them."

"You have got to be kidding." He leaned over the table towards her. "Tell me you're kidding."

"Turles…"

"I would rather die in here."

"Please. Please don't be this way. This is your only way out."

He leaned back in his chair and shook his head. "You. I cannot believe what I'm hearing from you."

"Fine," she said between gritted teeth. "But you know they'll get Acia right? They'll put her in here with you."

Turles shook his head again. "They won't find her."

"They will," DeeDee insisted. "I told you, they have people everywhere now."

"Not where she is."

"Maybe not now, but soon." She leaned forward, her whole body stretching out on the table so that their faces were mere inches apart. "I know," she said quietly. "They have people close. Headhunters. There's a nice little price for her and Patrol doesn't care if they bring her in dead or alive. Do you understand?"

For a moment he was silent. He knew that couldn't be true, but DeeDee's eyes told a different story.

"Why would they even care…"

"They're trying to make a point," she said. "The Alliance want to prove to the planets still holding out against them that they can go after the big crews, so they'd better get on board while the getting's still good."

Turles' heart was beating wildly now, his fingers trembling ever so slightly. If this was true, then his daughter was little more than a sitting duck on that miserable planet. And after everything they'd gone through, everything they'd risked to protect her…

He swalled hard. "I trusted you," he whispered.

"And I pulled through, didn't I? Nothing's changed, not for me." She grinned slyly. "I'll save your neck this time, too."

 **A/N: Thanks to SwanOfWar for the idea of ki bonds as a way to keep people imprisoned. If you haven't read "A Good Man," check it out, it's epic.**

 **Also, sorry this is taking so long. I know I promised to wrap this up quickly, but now that I'm working on the final chapters I find myself doing a lot more tweaking and editing than I usually do. Hopefully the end result is worth it! Thanks for sticking around.**


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